Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2,992 residents make their home in this town in Suffolk, East of England.
Capel St Mary’s strongest is health: life expectancy 84.3 for men, 85.5 for women. It is strong on safety as well (A): 13.5 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 5.6 home and vehicle crimes. Homes sell for a median £349,000, about 6.2 years of what households in the Babergh council area earn. The drawback is walkability — nearly one in ten commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. All told, that adds up to an A overall and a rank of #2 of 34 in Suffolk. That leaves it better than 94% of UK towns.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Capel St Mary does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Capel St Mary is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside Capel St Mary’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Capel St Mary.
Ages in Capel St Mary split evenly at 50.7: half are older, half younger. 15% are under 15, below Suffolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Aged 15 to 24: nearly one in ten residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Capel St Mary | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 31% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the 2 primary schools within 3 km: 55% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 53% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 49.8.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 273 | C |
Seeing a GP means leaving Capel St Mary: the nearest practice is 1.9 miles away. At the census, 3.6% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below Suffolk’s towns (5%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. Disability touches 15% of the town’s population. The nearest A&E to Capel St Mary is Ipswich Hospital, 7.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Capel St Mary | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 94 recorded crimes inside Capel St Mary’s built-up area, and 10 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 49% of the total. There were 3.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Suffolk’s towns (4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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.
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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
38% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census; what’s more, the car took 89% of commuters, above Suffolk’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Household income averages £64K a year before tax. Of the commuters living in Capel St Mary, 7% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 6% of the total, lower than both Suffolk’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 1 of them. Per 10,000 residents, Capel St Mary counts 40 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds 5% of households, below Suffolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £965 a month across the Babergh council area. The median sale, £349,000, comes from 126 standard sales inside Capel St Mary’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £425,000 | 64 |
| Semi-detached | £310,000 | 38 |
| Terraced | £285,000 | 20 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Capel St Mary. Best known first.
CastleLittle Wenham Castle400 m outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttraction · National TrustFlatford Mill4.7 km outside town, to the southZooZooJimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park4.7 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capel St Mary | 2,992 | — | A | B+ | A | A+ |
| East Bergholt | 2,211 | 2.1 | — | B− | B+ | A |
| Brantham | 2,081 | 2.8 | — | B+ | A− | A |
| Manningtree | 1,676 | 4.1 | — | D− | C | B− |
| Lawford | 4,488 | 4.3 | B+ | D− | B | B |
| Mistley | 1,827 | 4.6 | — | D− | C | B |
| Hadleigh | 8,638 | 4.9 | A− | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Holbrook | 2,146 | 4.9 | — | B+ | A | A |
East Bergholt, Brantham, Manningtree, Mistley and Holbrook have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £349,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £285,000, semi-detached houses £310,000 and detached houses £425,000. Household incomes are higher than in 77% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
Town in Suffolk, England
Capel St Mary is a built-up area of 2,992 people, in the Babergh 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
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.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.