Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 2,278 in Suffolk, East of England.
Clare has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is health (A−): life expectancy 81.8 for men, 87 for women. Its weakest is cost of living (C−): median sale £374,950, 6.8 years of area income; rent £1,183 a month.
The 3 things Clare 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 Clare is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 118 buildings inside Clare’s built-up area, 6 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
28% 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 Clare.
For Clare, that is above both Suffolk’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 make up 13% of residents. Clare has a median age of 53.2.
54% women, 46% men
About 86 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.
| Clare | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.2% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 33% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clare Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 199 | C |
| Stour Valley Community SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 569 | C+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Clare has 118 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 6 Grade I, 11 Grade II*. Clare has 518 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, above both Suffolk’s towns (88) and England’s towns (39). Clare’s listed buildings include Chapel to Clare Priory, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Women here live to 87 on average and men to 81.8 (2019–23). The nearest A&E to Clare is West Suffolk Hospital, 11.8 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Clare | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Clare sits below both Suffolk’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%) on this measure. Social housing holds 23% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £435,000 | 61 |
| Semi-detached | £337,500 | 32 |
| Terraced | £295,000 | 30 |
| Flat or maisonette | £187,500 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Police recorded 74 crimes inside Clare’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 9 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 50% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Clare below both Suffolk’s towns (44%) and England’s towns (45%). 17% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Clare. Best known first.
MuseumThe Ancient House Museumin town
CastleClare Castle100 m outside town, to the southeastArt galleryArt galleryTelephone Kioskin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
3 notable people were born in Clare.
George Digby Barker: The photographer is not credited, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clare | 2,278 | — | — | C− | B+ | A− |
| Kedington | 1,778 | 3.9 | — | C | A | B+ |
| Glemsford | 3,693 | 4 | A | A | B+ | B+ |
| Great Yeldham | 1,824 | 4.5 | — | B− | B− | A− |
| Cock and End | 1,346 | 4.9 | — | C+ | D− | B− |
| Long Melford | 3,895 | 5.9 | B+ | B | A− | B+ |
| Castle Hedingham | 1,045 | 6.2 | — | B− | A− | B+ |
| Steeple Bumpstead | 1,376 | 6.2 | — | C | A− | A |
Kedington, Great Yeldham, Cock and End, Castle Hedingham and Steeple Bumpstead have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 21.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Chapel to Clare Priory. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
GCSE results trail 60% of towns in England, and primary results trail 83% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Clare has 2 state schools; places are handled by Suffolk council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Village in Suffolk, England
Clare is a built-up area of 2,278 people, in the West Suffolk 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.