Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,224 in Suffolk, East of England.
Lavenham has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is health (A): life expectancy 83.6 for men, 86.5 for women. Its weakest is jobs & income (C): mean household income £54,773; 2.7% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The median home sold for £382,000 in the last three years, 6.8 times what households in the Babergh council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Lavenham 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 Lavenham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 196 buildings inside Lavenham’s built-up area, 13 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
30% 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 Lavenham.
That puts Lavenham above both Suffolk’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). 9.1% of residents are children under 15. Half the people of Lavenham are older than 61.6.
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
| Lavenham | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.1% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 4.4% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 42% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lavenham Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 114 | B |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Lavenham has 196 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 13 Grade I, 25 Grade II*. Lavenham has 1,601 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, above both Suffolk’s towns (88) and England’s towns (39). Lavenham’s listed buildings include Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Women here live to 86.5 on average and men to 83.6 (2019–23). 77% of Lavenham’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below both Suffolk’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%). Lavenham has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 4.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Lavenham | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.2% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
On this, Lavenham is above both Suffolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £562,500 | 24 |
| Semi-detached | £415,000 | 8 |
| Terraced | £342,500 | 40 |
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 36% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In the comparison, Lavenham comes below both Suffolk’s towns (44%) and England’s towns (45%). At the census, 15% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Police recorded 56 crimes inside Lavenham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 5 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 41% 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
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Lavenham. Best known first.
MuseumLittle Hallin town
Historic house · National TrustMelford Hall4.9 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseKentwell Hall4.7 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseum · National TrustGuildhall of Corpus Christiin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
3 notable people were born in Lavenham.
Isaac Taylor: Chalk drawing by Josiah Gilbert, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lavenham | 1,224 | — | — | B | B− | A |
| Acton | 1,666 | 3.1 | — | A− | A | B+ |
| Great Waldingfield | 1,377 | 3.7 | — | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Long Melford | 3,895 | 3.9 | B+ | B | A− | B+ |
| Bildeston | 1,096 | 4.7 | — | A− | A− | A− |
| Sudbury | 23,922 | 5.4 | B− | A | C− | C |
| Glemsford | 3,693 | 5.4 | A | A | B+ | B+ |
| Great Bricett | 1,518 | 7.4 | — | A | A+ | B |
Acton, Great Waldingfield, Bildeston and Great Bricett have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 65.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Primary results beat 78% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Suffolk council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £382,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £342,500, semi-detached houses £415,000 and detached houses £562,500.
Village in Suffolk, England
Lavenham is a built-up area of 1,224 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.