Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,567 in Suffolk, East of England.
Lakenheath grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 44% of UK towns, and #23 of 34 in Suffolk. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (B+): 0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is walkability (D−): 6% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £248,000 in the last three years, 4.5 times what households in the West Suffolk council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Lakenheath 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 Lakenheath is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 8 buildings inside Lakenheath’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
9% 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 Lakenheath.
Lakenheath has a median age of 42.7. 15% are under 15, below both Suffolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). People 65 and over make up nearly a quarter of the town.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Lakenheath | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 30% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 20% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · 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.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026, below Suffolk’s towns (2.2%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. The car carried 92% of commuters at the census. 18% of workers did their job 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.
9% of homes date from before 1919. Lakenheath’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. For its size, Lakenheath has 18 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, below both Suffolk’s towns (92) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 199 offences in Lakenheath and 12 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 46% of the total. There were 2.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Suffolk’s towns (4) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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 police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
207 standard sales inside Lakenheath’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £248,000. Private rents average £1,183 a month across the West Suffolk council area. Households that own their home make up 62%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £265,000 | 130 |
| Semi-detached | £232,250 | 56 |
| Terraced | £205,000 | 19 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The nearest A&E to Lakenheath is West Suffolk Hospital, 14.9 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Women here live to 83.8 on average and men to 82.5 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Lakenheath | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
8 listed buildings in Lakenheath, 1 of them Grade I.
Brewery House: Photo: Kelly · CC0 · Lakenheath Hotel: Photo: Kelly · CC0 · Chalk Farmhouse: Photo: Kelly · CC0 · Lakenheath War Memorial: Photo: Kelly · CC0
4 notable people were born in Lakenheath.
Nate James: Gill Rickson from London, London, CC BY 2.0 · Jeremy Gable: Jennnosek, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakenheath | 4,567 | — | C+ | B | B | B− |
| Little Eriswell | 4,120 | 1.9 | A− | B | A+ | B+ |
| Beck Row | 4,129 | 3.3 | C | B− | B− | B |
| Hockwold cum Wilton | 1,303 | 3.6 | — | D | A | C+ |
| Mildenhall | 9,684 | 4.6 | C− | B | C− | C |
| Brandon | 9,218 | 4.7 | C− | B | C | C− |
| Feltwell | 2,919 | 4.9 | B− | C | A | C |
| Weeting | 1,883 | 5.2 | — | B | A | C+ |
Hockwold cum Wilton and Weeting 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, 12% of Lakenheath’s 4,567 residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Primary results trail 85% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). Places are handled by Suffolk council.
It has less crime than most places its size: less crime per resident than 67% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Town in Suffolk, England
Lakenheath is a built-up area of 4,567 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.