Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,172 in Suffolk, East of England.
Gislingham has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is schools (A+): primary results beat 98% of towns in England. Its weakest is walkability (D−): 4% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £303,000 in the last three years, 5.2 times what households in the Mid Suffolk council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Gislingham 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 Gislingham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Gislingham’s built-up area.
30% 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 Gislingham.
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.
93% of commuters drove to work at the census. Working mainly from home: 35% of workers, higher than both Suffolk’s towns (25%) and England’s towns (31%). The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.5%. Of the commuters living in Gislingham, 2% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Gislingham Church of England Primary School’s results beat 90% of schools in England like it. At the one primary school within 3 km, 79% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gislingham Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 144 | A |
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 1.4 reports per 1,000, below both Suffolk’s towns (4) and England’s towns (7.8). Each year, 12.8 violent crimes are recorded per 1,000 residents. Reported offences in Gislingham came to 16 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 2. Homes see 3.4 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
30% of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both Suffolk’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (16%). Gislingham’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. It has 29 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 3 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
84% of households are owner-occupiers. Social housing holds 6% of households, lower than both Suffolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,005 a month across the Mid Suffolk council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £437,500 | 24 |
| Semi-detached | £250,000 | 21 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
15% of residents in Gislingham live with a disability. At the census, 87% of people in Gislingham called their health good or very good, above Suffolk’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Seeing a GP means leaving Gislingham: the nearest practice is 3.2 miles away. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.8% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Gislingham | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Children under 15 count for 16% of the people here. The age that splits Gislingham in two is 50.3. Nearly a quarter of residents have reached 65. Degrees are held by 30% of adults, higher than Suffolk’s towns (27%) yet lower than England’s towns (34%).
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Gislingham | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.7% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 33% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gislingham | 1,172 | — | — | A | A | A |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 2.9 | — | A− | A | A− |
| Rickinghall and Botesdale | 1,842 | 3 | — | A− | A | A |
| Walsham le Willows | 1,258 | 4.2 | — | A− | A | A |
| Mendlesham | 1,018 | 4.2 | — | A | A | B+ |
| Eye | 2,211 | 4.7 | — | A− | B | B |
| Roydon (South Norfolk) | 1,117 | 5.7 | — | A | A− | B− |
| Diss | 9,599 | 6 | C+ | A | C+ | C+ |
Bacton and Cotton, Rickinghall and Botesdale, Walsham le Willows, Mendlesham, Eye and Roydon (South Norfolk) have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results beat 98% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Suffolk council.
That is 10.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary.
Police recorded 16 crimes inside Gislingham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 56% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Village in Suffolk, England
Gislingham is a built-up area of 1,172 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.