Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 14,947 in Suffolk, East of England.
Kesgrave grades A+ overall against UK towns: better than almost every UK town, and #1 of 34 in Suffolk. Its strongest subject is jobs & income (A): mean household income £61,944; 1.3% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The median home sold for £325,000 in the last three years, 6.2 times what households in the East Suffolk council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Kesgrave 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 Kesgrave is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 3 buildings inside Kesgrave’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
1% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Kesgrave. Best known first.
MuseumChristchurch Mansion3.5 km outside town, to the west
MuseumWoodbridge Tide Mill4.6 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumIpswich Museum4 km outside town, to the west
MuseumIpswich Transport Museum2.4 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumClifford Road Tunnels2.4 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Kesgrave.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Kesgrave has 3 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*. 1% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heath Primary School, KesgraveLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 523 | B |
| Kesgrave High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,875 | B |
Homes saw 3.3 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, below both Suffolk’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (9.4). Violent crime runs at 13 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 316 crimes inside Kesgrave’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 40 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
Kesgrave sits below both Suffolk’s towns (5%) and England’s towns (5.2%) on this measure. Women here live to 85.5 on average and men to 81.8 (2019–23). 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 | Kesgrave | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
That puts Kesgrave above both Suffolk’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). Social housing holds 6% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £410,000 | 281 |
| Semi-detached | £295,000 | 164 |
| Terraced | £258,000 | 125 |
| Flat or maisonette | £180,000 | 43 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
On this, Kesgrave is below both Suffolk’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (27%). The car carried 85% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
11% of residents are 15 to 24 and 20% are 65 or over, against 10% and 23% across Suffolk’s towns. 32% of residents 16 and over have a degree-level qualification (Suffolk 27%, England 34%).
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Kesgrave | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.7% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
3 listed buildings in Kesgrave.
The Bell Public House: Photo: Steve James · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Grange Farmhouse: Photo: Steve James · CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kesgrave | 14,947 | — | A+ | B+ | A | A− |
| Martlesham Heath | 2,730 | 1.3 | B+ | B | D | A− |
| Martlesham | 1,976 | 1.7 | — | B− | C+ | A− |
| Grundisburgh | 1,424 | 3.5 | — | B− | A | A |
| Ipswich | 151,566 | 3.6 | C | B | C− | C |
| Woodbridge | 10,146 | 3.7 | A− | B− | B | A− |
| Melton | 1,608 | 4.8 | — | B+ | B− | A |
| Kirton | 1,245 | 4.9 | — | B | A+ | B |
Martlesham, Grundisburgh, Melton and Kirton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Police recorded 316 crimes inside Kesgrave’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 64% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
GCSE results beat 62% of towns in England, and primary results beat 72% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Kesgrave has 3 state schools; places are handled by Suffolk council.
Town in Suffolk, England
Kesgrave is a built-up area of 14,947 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
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.
