Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,446 in Suffolk, East of England.
Elmswell grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 79% of UK towns, and #9 of 34 in Suffolk. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A−): median sale £320,000, 5.5 years of area income; rent £1,005 a month. Its weakest is walkability (C−): 9% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
The 2 things Elmswell 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 Elmswell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 18 buildings inside Elmswell’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
7% 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 Elmswell.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Elmswell comes below both Suffolk’s towns (44%) and England’s towns (45%). The car carried 89% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elmswell Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 383 | A− |
For Elmswell, that is below both Suffolk’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). Owners make up 74% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £425,000 | 173 |
| Semi-detached | £260,000 | 67 |
| Terraced | £230,000 | 57 |
| Flat or maisonette | £146,500 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Women here live to 86.6 on average and men to 81.7 (2019–23). Elmswell has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.4 miles away. 16% of residents have a disability, below both Suffolk’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%).
| Census 2021 | Elmswell | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
9.8% of residents are 15 to 24 and 23% are 65 or over, against 10% and 23% across Suffolk’s towns. 31% of residents 16 and over have a degree-level qualification (Suffolk 27%, England 34%).
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Elmswell | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Elmswell has 18 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 7% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Police recorded 175 crimes inside Elmswell’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 16 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 59% 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 nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmswell | 4,446 | — | A− | A− | B | A− |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 1.4 | — | B+ | C+ | B+ |
| Haughley | 1,316 | 2.7 | — | A | C | B+ |
| Walsham le Willows | 1,258 | 4.5 | — | A− | A | A |
| Thurston | 3,009 | 4.6 | B+ | B+ | C | A |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 4.6 | — | A− | A | A− |
| Stowmarket | 21,537 | 4.9 | B | A | C+ | C+ |
| Stowupland | 2,019 | 5.2 | — | A | C+ | B+ |
Woolpit, Haughley, Walsham le Willows, Bacton and Cotton and Stowupland have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Elmswell is £2,348 for 2026–27, less than in 67% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Suffolk, England
Elmswell is a built-up area of 4,446 people, in the Mid 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.