Plenty in its favour, and one clear drawback. Schools do well: primary results beat 91% of towns in England; secondary results beat 88% of towns in England. Safety lags: police record 34.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 14.7 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 41%. Homes sell for a median £327,500, about 5.7 years of what households in the Lichfield council area earn. Put together, the subjects come to a B+ overall, ranking #12 of 46 in Staffordshire. That leaves it better than 69% of UK towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for health and B for jobs & income.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Lichfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Lichfield.
SchoolsA
Exam results at Lichfield’s schools top 93% of towns in England
Secondary results at the town’s 3 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 53, with 59% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Christ Church CofE (C) Primary School’s results beat 98% of schools in England like it. Of its 18 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. At the town’s 10 primary schools, 72% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 18 schools →
Who lives here
Lichfield is a graduates’ town: 39% hold a degree, more than in Staffordshire’s towns or England’s towns
Nearly a tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both Staffordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Over-65s are nearly a quarter of the population. Lichfield has a median age of 46.3. One measure of family life: 16% of residents are under 15.
46.3median age
LichfieldStaffordshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
24%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications16%
Apprenticeship4%
A levels or similar16%
Degree level39%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021 · Staffordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Safety
Crime per resident in Lichfield is higher than in 77% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Reported offences in Lichfield came to 2,575 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 525. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 12.4 reports per 1,000, higher than both Staffordshire’s towns (7.3) and England’s towns (7.8). Of all the crimes, 44% were violence and sexual offences.
34.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 41% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual1,143
Shoplifting291
Public order279
Vehicle crime222
Damage & arson169
Other theft152
Burglary90
Drugs85
Anti-social525
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
34.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
14.7
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
12.4
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B
3% of 16 to 64s in Lichfield claim unemployment benefits, more than in Staffordshire’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
79% of commuters drove to work at the census. About 29% of its commuters stay in Lichfield for work. This Staffordshire town counts 1.2 jobs per working resident. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 39%, below both Staffordshire’s towns (43%) and England’s towns (45%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
Lichfield has 259 listed buildings, 6 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 30 of them, Grade I 6. Per 10,000 residents, Lichfield counts 79 listed buildings. The town’s listed buildings include the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Chad, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
82% of residents say their health is good or very good
2 GP practices serve the town; 72% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Lichfield is Good Hope Hospital, 8 miles away. Also worth knowing: at the census, 18% of people here had a disability, lower than Staffordshire’s towns (19%) yet higher than England’s towns (17%).
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
HousingCost of living grade B
Few households rent privately in Lichfield: 14%, fewer than in Staffordshire’s towns and England’s towns
Private rents average £1,103 a month across the Lichfield council area. Owners make up 67% of households, near Staffordshire’s towns (67%) and higher than England’s towns (61%). The £327,500 median rests on 1,729 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
£328Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Lichfield£328K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£475,000
555
Semi-detached
£315,000
497
Terraced
£268,000
317
Flat or maisonette
£193,250
360
67%
of households own their home · England 61%
14%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,103
average private rent a month, Lichfield council area
Samuel Johnson: Joshua Reynolds, Public domain · Elias Ashmole: After John Riley, Public domain · Henry Salt: John James Halls, Public domain · Robert Darwin: James Pardon, Public domain · Sophie Capewell: Nicola, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Siân Brooke: JaceMerlyn, CC BY-SA 4.0
Streethay, Whittington, Shenstone and King's Bromley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Lichfield
How many listed buildings are there in Lichfield?
That is 3.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Chad. It also has 3 scheduled monuments.
Are schools in Lichfield good?
GCSE results beat 88% of towns in England, and primary results beat 91% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Is Lichfield safe?
About the middle for its size: 59% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−.
About Lichfield
Large town in Staffordshire, England
Lichfield is a built-up area of 32,586 people, in the Lichfield council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Population
32,586 (Census 2021)
Council
Lichfield
County
Staffordshire
Region
West Midlands
Area
3.6 sq mi (9.2 km²)
ONS code
E63002522
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
