Felixstowe grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 51% of UK towns, and #19 of 34 in Suffolk. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is schools (D): primary results beat 15% of towns in England; secondary results beat 21% of towns in England. The median home sold for £290,000 in the last three years, 5.6 times what households in the East Suffolk council area earn in a year.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Felixstowe is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Felixstowe.
Who lives here
Felixstowe skews older, with 29% of residents 65 or over, more than in Suffolk’s towns and across England’s towns
The age that splits Felixstowe in two is 51. Children under 15 make up 14%, lower than both Suffolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). What’s more, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
51median age
FelixstoweSuffolkEngland
Ages · share of residents
29%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications20%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar15%
Degree level25%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 93 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.
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
SchoolsD
On exam results, Felixstowe’s schools trail 87% of towns in England
53% of pupils at the town’s 5 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are two of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 40.3, with 40% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 7 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Work is close at hand in Felixstowe: 55% of commuters travel under 5 km, more than in Suffolk’s towns and across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 26% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Of the commuters living in Felixstowe, 50% work in the town itself. Three quarters of commuters drove, below Suffolk’s towns (79%) but above England’s towns (70%). The average household earns £50K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
HousingCost of living grade A−
For cost of living grade, Felixstowe gets an A−
Private rents average £842 a month across the East Suffolk council area. Nearly two thirds of households own their home, about level with Suffolk’s towns (64%) and above England’s towns (61%). 1,242 standard sales inside Felixstowe’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £290,000.
£290Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Felixstowe£290K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£405,000
414
Semi-detached
£280,000
348
Terraced
£238,000
270
Flat or maisonette
£173,000
210
65%
of households own their home · England 61%
19%
rent privately · England 21%
£842
average private rent a month, East Suffolk council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
More people in Felixstowe live with a disability than in Suffolk’s towns or across England’s towns: 22%
78% of Felixstowe’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below Suffolk’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6% of the town. 3 GP practices serve the town; 90% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Felixstowe is Ipswich Hospital, 9 miles away.
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.
Safety
Felixstowe records more violent crime per resident than Suffolk’s towns or England’s towns, at 28.1 per 1,000 a year
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 1,253 offences in Felixstowe and 123 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 51% of the crimes. Also worth knowing: among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Felixstowe has less crime per resident than 72% of them.
28.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC+Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 72% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: less crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual643
Damage & arson128
Shoplifting107
Other theft95
Public order81
Burglary40
Vehicle crime40
Other crime33
Anti-social123
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.
28.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
7.9
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
5.9
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.
History
1 Grade I buildings among Felixstowe’s 35 listed
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Felixstowe’s listed buildings include Landguard Fort, Grade I. Listed buildings per head: 14 for every 10,000 residents of the town. Homes built before 1919 account for 18% of the housing.
Dawn Addams: CBS Television. It was not uncommon for television networks, studios and sponsors of television programs to use either a public relations firm or advertising agency for distribution of publicity mate…, Public domain · Matt Bloomfield: ukhomeoffice, CC BY 2.0 · John Bridgeman: Papamichael, CC BY 3.0
Trimley St Martin, Kirton, Shotley Gate and Martlesham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Felixstowe
Are schools in Felixstowe good?
GCSE results trail 79% of towns in England, and primary results trail 85% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Is Felixstowe safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C+.
About Felixstowe
Large town in Suffolk, England
Felixstowe is a built-up area of 24,218 people, in the East 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
Population
24,218 (Census 2021)
Council
East Suffolk
County
Suffolk
Region
East of England
Area
4.4 sq mi (11.4 km²)
ONS code
E63003946
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.
