Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,693 in Suffolk, East of England.
Glemsford grades A overall against UK towns: better than 92% of UK towns, and #4 of 34 in Suffolk. Its strongest subject is schools (A+): primary results beat 99% of towns in England. Its weakest is walkability (D−): 6% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £286,250 in the last three years, 5.1 times what households in the Babergh council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Glemsford 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 Glemsford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 37 buildings inside Glemsford’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
20% 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 Glemsford.
Glemsford Primary Academy’s results beat 93% of schools in England like it. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glemsford Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 243 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Glemsford comes below both Suffolk’s towns (44%) and England’s towns (45%). The car carried 92% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
For Glemsford, that is above both Suffolk’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). 11% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £335,000 | 53 |
| Semi-detached | £288,750 | 52 |
| Terraced | £235,000 | 44 |
| Flat or maisonette | £161,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Glemsford sits above both Suffolk’s towns (6%) and England’s towns (7%) on this measure. Glemsford’s listed buildings include Church of St Mary, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 20% of the total.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
That puts Glemsford below both Suffolk’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 81 crimes inside Glemsford’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 15 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Glemsford has less crime per resident than 81% of them.
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
On this, Glemsford is below both Suffolk’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). Glemsford has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 4.1 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 | Glemsford | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
25% of residents are 65 or over, above both Suffolk’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). People aged 15 to 24 make up 8.8% of the town. Glemsford has a median age of 46.6.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Glemsford | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
37 listed buildings in Glemsford, 1 of them Grade I.
Peverells: Photo: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Angel House: Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Black Lion Inn: Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Park Farmhouse: Photo: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glemsford | 3,693 | — | A | A | B+ | B+ |
| Long Melford | 3,895 | 2.6 | B+ | B | A− | B+ |
| Clare | 2,278 | 4 | — | C− | B+ | A− |
| Acton | 1,666 | 4.6 | — | A− | A | B+ |
| Sudbury | 23,922 | 5.3 | B− | A | C− | C |
| Lavenham | 1,224 | 5.4 | — | B | B− | A |
| Great Waldingfield | 1,377 | 5.6 | — | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Cock and End | 1,346 | 7.1 | — | C+ | D− | B− |
Clare, Acton, Lavenham, Great Waldingfield and Cock and End 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 99% 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 4.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary.
Police recorded 81 crimes inside Glemsford’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 58% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Town in Suffolk, England
Glemsford is a built-up area of 3,693 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.