Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 1,842 people, this village lies in Suffolk, East of England.
Pupils here do better than most: primary results beat 97% of towns in England. It also does well on safety — 10 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 6.2 home and vehicle crimes. Its lowest grade is for walkability: on the way to work, 10% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Hazard risk is higher than most: 1.1% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £331,000, 5.7 times what households in the Mid Suffolk council area earn in a year.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS. With fewer than 2,500 residents, Rickinghall and Botesdale has subject grades but no overall one.
The 3 things Rickinghall and Botesdale 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 Rickinghall and Botesdale is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Rickinghall and Botesdale’s built-up area.
27% 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 Rickinghall and Botesdale.
At the one primary school within 3 km, 76% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below is its only school. The town’s primary school has 180 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Botolph's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 180 | A |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 27% of the total, above both Suffolk’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (16%). Rickinghall and Botesdale’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. It has 75 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 5 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence and sexual offences made up 51% of the total. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 55 recorded crimes inside Rickinghall and Botesdale’s built-up area, and 19 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Rickinghall and Botesdale has less crime per resident than 83% of them.
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.
The nearest A&E to Rickinghall and Botesdale is West Suffolk Hospital, 14.4 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 88% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Disability touches 19% of the town’s population.
| Census 2021 | Rickinghall and Botesdale | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Social housing holds 11% of households, below Suffolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £1,005 a month across the Mid Suffolk council area. The median sale, £331,000, comes from 102 standard sales inside Rickinghall and Botesdale’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £432,500 | 54 |
| Semi-detached | £269,375 | 32 |
| Terraced | £260,000 | 14 |
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 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
88% of commuters drove, above both Suffolk’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (70%). Rickinghall and Botesdale counts 0.6 jobs per working resident. Income per household averages £58K a year, before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
14% are under 15, lower than both Suffolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%), and the share aged 15 to 24 is 8.3%. Half of Rickinghall and Botesdale is older than 52.6, half younger. Also worth knowing: among adults, 29% have a degree.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
| Rickinghall and Botesdale | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 31% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.7% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rickinghall and Botesdale | 1,842 | — | — | A− | A | A |
| Gislingham | 1,172 | 3 | — | A | A | A |
| Walsham le Willows | 1,258 | 3.7 | — | A− | A | A |
| Roydon (South Norfolk) | 1,117 | 4.6 | — | A | A− | B− |
| Stanton | 2,316 | 5.1 | — | B− | A | B |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 5.2 | — | A− | A | A− |
| Diss | 9,599 | 5.4 | C+ | A | C+ | C+ |
| Eye | 2,211 | 6.2 | — | A− | B | B |
Gislingham, Walsham le Willows, Roydon (South Norfolk), Stanton, Bacton and Cotton and Eye have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results beat 97% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Suffolk council.
That is 16.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Village in Suffolk, England
Rickinghall and Botesdale is a built-up area of 1,842 people, in the Mid 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.