Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 26,704 in Suffolk, East of England.
Haverhill grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 24% of UK towns, and #32 of 34 in Suffolk. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 19% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is schools (C−): primary results beat 38% of towns in England; secondary results beat 8% of towns in England. The median home sold for £270,000 in the last three years, 4.9 times what households in the West Suffolk council area earn in a year.
The 2 things Haverhill 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 Haverhill is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 34 buildings inside Haverhill’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*.
7% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1921.
Explore the history →Haverhill, Massachusetts, is named after Haverhill.
USUS editionHaverhill, Massachusetts, settled in 1640, takes its name from this large town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Haverhill.
For Haverhill, that is below both Suffolk’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (34%). Under-15s account for 19% of the population. Haverhill has a median age of 39.2.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Haverhill | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burton End Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 449 | C+ |
| Samuel Ward AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,076 | C− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Haverhill sits above both Suffolk’s towns (18.9) and England’s towns (22) on this measure. Homes see 12.3 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 1,890 crimes inside Haverhill’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 145 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 18% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Haverhill above both Suffolk’s towns (2.2%) and England’s towns (2.3%). 18% of workers worked mainly from home at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Haverhill has 34 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 3 Grade II*. 7% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
83% of Haverhill’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 | Haverhill | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 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
Half the homes sold went for more than £270K, below both Suffolk’s towns (£310K) and England’s towns (£308K).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £375,000 | 263 |
| Semi-detached | £280,000 | 237 |
| Terraced | £230,000 | 433 |
| Flat or maisonette | £175,000 | 58 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
34 listed buildings in Haverhill.
Anne of Cleves House: Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Mary: Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Old Independent Church: Photo: Przemyslaw Parzysz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Corn Exchange: Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0
5 notable people were born in Haverhill.
Samuel Ward: Gustavus Ellinthorpe Sintzenich, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haverhill | 26,704 | — | C− | B− | C− | C+ |
| Kedington | 1,778 | 2.5 | — | C | A | B+ |
| Steeple Bumpstead | 1,376 | 2.8 | — | C | A− | A |
| Cock and End | 1,346 | 5 | — | C+ | D− | B− |
| Balsham | 1,625 | 5.9 | — | B+ | A | A+ |
| Clare | 2,278 | 6.3 | — | C− | B+ | A− |
| Linton | 4,452 | 6.4 | A+ | B+ | B | A |
| Great Yeldham | 1,824 | 7.3 | — | B− | B− | A− |
Kedington, Steeple Bumpstead, Cock and End, Balsham, Clare and Great Yeldham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
At the 2021 Census, 11% of Haverhill’s 26,704 residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
About the middle for its size: 60% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−. Police recorded 1,890 crimes inside Haverhill’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 51% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Large town in Suffolk, England
Haverhill is a built-up area of 26,704 people, in the West 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.