Kessingland, #1 on this list · Photo: Mat Fascione · CC BY-SA 2.0

Suffolk rankings · Cost of living

Most affordable towns in Suffolk

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

The Cost of living Grade: the median sale price (Land Registry), a year’s private rent (ONS) and Band D council tax with the parish precept, each against the mean household income of the town’s council area. The rank across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sits beside each letter. How grades work

Kessingland

4,242 people

Homes cost 4.0 years of area income·#238 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Needham Market

5,055 people

Homes cost 4.5 years of area income·#257 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

#T3

Claydon

3,140 people

Homes cost 4.6 years of area income·#287 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

All 34 towns, ranked

Cost of living 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, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland links to the national list.

Every town in Suffolk →

Find a town

34 towns.

#TownGrade · UK rankCompared with UK towns

1Kessingland4,242 peopleA#238 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.0 years of area income

2Needham Market5,055 peopleA#257 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.5 years of area income

T3Claydon3,140 peopleA#287 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.6 years of area income

T3Lowestoft71,308 peopleA#287 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.2 years of area income

5Leiston5,919 peopleA#301 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.3 years of area income

6Beccles9,807 peopleA#313 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.6 years of area income

7Stowmarket21,537 peopleA#315 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.5 years of area income

8Trimley St Mary3,736 peopleA#427 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.2 years of area income

9Bungay5,012 peopleA#431 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.9 years of area income

10Glemsford3,693 peopleA#439 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.1 years of area income

11Sudbury23,922 peopleA#444 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.9 years of area income

12Elmswell4,446 peopleA⁻#565 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.5 years of area income

13Halesworth4,924 peopleA⁻#569 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.2 years of area income

14Felixstowe24,218 peopleA⁻#654 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.6 years of area income

15Worlingham3,618 peopleA⁻#682 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.8 years of area income

16Thurston3,009 peopleB⁺#781 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.9 years of area income

T17Hadleigh8,638 peopleB⁺#812 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.7 years of area income

T17Rendlesham3,185 peopleB⁺#812 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.6 years of area income

19Saxmundham4,778 peopleB⁺#841 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.7 years of area income

20Capel St Mary2,992 peopleB⁺#966 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.2 years of area income

21Kesgrave14,947 peopleB⁺#992 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.2 years of area income

T22Ipswich151,566 peopleB#1,111 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.7 years of area income

T22Long Melford3,895 peopleB#1,111 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.5 years of area income

24Brandon9,218 peopleB#1,150 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.0 years of area income

25Framlingham3,831 peopleB#1,161 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.3 years of area income

26Martlesham Heath2,730 peopleB#1,182 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.7 years of area income

27Lakenheath4,567 peopleB#1,281 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.5 years of area income

28Mildenhall9,684 peopleB#1,289 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.4 years of area income

29Woodbridge10,146 peopleB⁻#1,324 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 7.1 years of area income

30Beck Row4,129 peopleB⁻#1,337 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.9 years of area income

T31Bury St Edmunds41,279 peopleB⁻#1,480 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.2 years of area income

T31Newmarket18,857 peopleB⁻#1,480 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.0 years of area income

33Haverhill26,704 peopleB⁻#1,518 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.9 years of area income

34Red Lodge5,771 peopleB⁻#1,519 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.1 years of area income

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

What is the most affordable town in Suffolk?

Kessingland ranks first on cost of living among 34 towns, with an A: homes cost 4.0 years of area income. Needham Market and Claydon follow.

How are these towns ranked?

The Cost of living Grade: the median sale price (Land Registry), a year’s private rent (ONS) and Band D council tax with the parish precept, each against the mean household income of the town’s council area. 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 →

Best places to live34 towns · #1 Kesgrave Best small towns24 towns · #1 Capel St Mary Safest towns34 towns · #1 Worlingham Towns with the best schools34 towns · #1 Glemsford Healthiest towns34 towns · #1 Capel St Mary Best towns for jobs & income34 towns · #1 Martlesham Heath Most walkable towns34 towns · #1 Bury St Edmunds Towns with the lowest flood risk34 towns · #1 Capel St Mary and 6 more Best towns for the outdoors34 towns · #1 Trimley St Mary Most historic towns34 towns · #1 Long Melford Towns with the most civic life34 towns · #1 Framlingham Towns with the highest household incomes35 towns · #1 ThurstonDescribed, no letters Towns with the lowest council tax35 towns · #1 WorlinghamDescribed, no letters Towns with the mildest winters35 towns · #1 Trimley St MaryDescribed, no letters Towns with the warmest summers35 towns · #1 Beck RowDescribed, no letters Towns with the coolest summers35 towns · #1 KessinglandDescribed, no letters Towns with the fewest frosts35 towns · #1 Trimley St MaryDescribed, no letters Driest towns35 towns · #1 FelixstoweDescribed, no letters Wettest towns35 towns · #1 SaxmundhamDescribed, no letters

Sources: 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) · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · 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.