Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,638 in Suffolk, East of England.
Hadleigh grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 76% of UK towns, and #11 of 34 in Suffolk. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 20% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £320,000 in the last three years, 5.7 times what households in the Babergh council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Hadleigh 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 Hadleigh is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 230 buildings inside Hadleigh’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade I.
15% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1890.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hadleigh.
That puts Hadleigh above both Suffolk’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 9.9% of residents. Half the people of Hadleigh are older than 46.7.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
| Hadleigh | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hadleigh Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 525 | A− |
| Hadleigh High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 712 | C+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
On this, Hadleigh is above both Suffolk’s towns (88) and England’s towns (39). Hadleigh’s listed buildings include Church of St Mary, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Hadleigh comes below both Suffolk’s towns (44%) and England’s towns (45%). The car carried 79% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £382,500 | 167 |
| Semi-detached | £290,000 | 101 |
| Terraced | £250,000 | 86 |
| Flat or maisonette | £222,500 | 22 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
81% of Hadleigh’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 81% across Suffolk’s towns. 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 | Hadleigh | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Police recorded 405 crimes inside Hadleigh’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 42 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 54% 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
230 listed buildings in Hadleigh, 4 of them Grade I.
Church of St Mary: Photo: Martinevans123 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Guildhall: Photo: Joan Vaughan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Deanery Tower: Photo: Keith Evans · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Former Hadleigh Railway Station: Photo: Oxyman · CC BY-SA 2.0
7 notable people were born in Hadleigh.
Thomas Woolner: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Public domain · Terence Blacker: Angela Sykes, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Joseph Beaumont: Unidentified painter, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hadleigh | 8,638 | — | A− | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Elmsett | 1,001 | 2.7 | — | B− | A+ | A− |
| Bildeston | 1,096 | 4.7 | — | A− | A− | A− |
| Capel St Mary | 2,992 | 4.9 | A | B+ | A | A+ |
| Great Bricett | 1,518 | 5.2 | — | A | A+ | B |
| East Bergholt | 2,211 | 5.5 | — | B− | B+ | A |
| Bramford | 2,335 | 6.2 | — | A− | B | B− |
| Great Blakenham | 2,188 | 7.3 | — | A | B | B− |
Elmsett, Bildeston, Great Bricett, East Bergholt, Bramford and Great Blakenham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 10.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Guildhall.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £320,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £222,500, terraced houses £250,000, semi-detached houses £290,000 and detached houses £382,500. Household incomes are higher than in 69% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
Town in Suffolk, England
Hadleigh is a built-up area of 8,638 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.