Framlingham, #1 on this list · Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0

Suffolk rankings · Civic life

Towns with the most civic life in Suffolk

Framlingham ranks first on civic life among Suffolk’s 34 towns of 2,500+; 15 of the 34 grade A− or better against UK towns.

The Civic life Grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): local registered charities per 1,000 residents and the share living within 1 km of a public library. The rank across England and Wales sits beside each letter. How grades work

Framlingham

3,831 people

A⁺

Better than 98% of UK towns·#15 of 2,156 in England and Wales

Halesworth

4,924 people

A⁺

Better than 96% of UK towns·#61 of 2,156 in England and Wales

Thurston

3,009 people

A⁺

Better than 95% of UK towns·#79 of 2,156 in England and Wales

All 34 towns, ranked

Civic life grade, best first; ranks are the county ranks on each town’s page (T = tied). Military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked. Each rank across England and Wales links to the national list.

Every town in Suffolk →

Find a town

34 towns.

#TownGrade · UK rankCompared with UK towns

1Framlingham3,831 peopleA⁺#15 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 98% of UK towns

2Halesworth4,924 peopleA⁺#61 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 96% of UK towns

3Thurston3,009 peopleA⁺#79 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 95% of UK towns

4Capel St Mary2,992 peopleA#110 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 94% of UK towns

5Bungay5,012 peopleA#143 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 93% of UK towns

T6Leiston5,919 peopleA#275 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 89% of UK towns

T6Needham Market5,055 peopleA#275 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 89% of UK towns

8Long Melford3,895 peopleA#279 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 88% of UK towns

9Lakenheath4,567 peopleA#298 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 88% of UK towns

10Woodbridge10,146 peopleA#341 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 87% of UK towns

11Beccles9,807 peopleA#344 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 86% of UK towns

12Elmswell4,446 peopleA#358 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 86% of UK towns

13Hadleigh8,638 peopleA⁻#444 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 84% of UK towns

14Mildenhall9,684 peopleA⁻#544 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 81% of UK towns

15Martlesham Heath2,730 peopleA⁻#643 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 76% of UK towns

16Ipswich151,566 peopleB⁺#801 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 66% of UK towns

17Bury St Edmunds41,279 peopleB⁺#819 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 65% of UK towns

18Felixstowe24,218 peopleB#917 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 60% of UK towns

19Sudbury23,922 peopleB#971 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 57% of UK towns

20Newmarket18,857 peopleB#1,002 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 56% of UK towns

21Stowmarket21,537 peopleB⁻#1,015 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 55% of UK towns

22Brandon9,218 peopleB⁻#1,023 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 54% of UK towns

23Claydon3,140 peopleC⁺#1,435 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 36% of UK towns

24Kesgrave14,947 peopleC#1,471 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 34% of UK towns

25Worlingham3,618 peopleC#1,472 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 34% of UK towns

26Glemsford3,693 peopleC#1,491 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 33% of UK towns

27Lowestoft71,308 peopleC#1,496 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 33% of UK towns

T28Haverhill26,704 peopleC#1,563 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 30% of UK towns

T28Saxmundham4,778 peopleC#1,563 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 30% of UK towns

30Rendlesham3,185 peopleC#1,609 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 29% of UK towns

31Kessingland4,242 peopleC⁻#1,767 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 22% of UK towns

32Trimley St Mary3,736 peopleC⁻#1,777 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 21% of UK towns

33Beck Row4,129 peopleC⁻#1,858 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 17% of UK towns

34Red Lodge5,771 peopleD⁻#2,117 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 3% of UK towns

Not ranked

Not on this list

1 military garrison town or university campus keeps its grade but isn’t ranked: most residents serve in the forces or are students.

Little Eriswell 4,120 people. Garrison town.

Quick answers

Questions people ask

Which town in Suffolk has the most civic life?

Framlingham ranks first on civic life among 34 towns, with an A+: better than 98% of UK towns. Halesworth and Thurston follow.

How are these towns ranked?

The Civic life Grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): local registered charities per 1,000 residents and the share living within 1 km of a public library. The letter and rank are the same as on each town’s page. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

Garrison towns and university campuses aren’t ranked, and towns without the figures this grade needs are counted above. The list covers Suffolk’s towns of 2,500+ with the figure. Smaller places show it on their own pages; every town in Suffolk is on the county page.

Go deeper

More Suffolk lists

Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.

All Suffolk rankings →

Sources: 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.