Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,618 in Suffolk, East of England.
Worlingham grades A overall against UK towns: better than 92% of UK towns, and #3 of 34 in Suffolk. Its strongest subject is safety (A): 10.3 violent and sexual offences and 4.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is walkability (C+): 12% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £300,000 in the last three years, 5.8 times what households in the East Suffolk council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Worlingham 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 Worlingham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 3 buildings inside Worlingham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
3% 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 Worlingham.
14% are under 15, lower than both Suffolk’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Worlingham has a median age of 50.1. Young adults of 15 to 24 are a tenth of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Worlingham | Suffolk | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.4% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the 5 primary schools within 3 km, 64% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). There is one school here; it is shown below. GCSE results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: 43% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 43.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worlingham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 324 | B |
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 49 crimes and 6 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Worlingham’s built-up area. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 1.6 reports per 1,000, lower than both Suffolk’s towns (4) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 69% of the crimes.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Per 10,000 residents, Worlingham counts 8 listed buildings, lower than both Suffolk’s towns (92) and England’s towns (39). The town has 3 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds 7% of households. 12% rent privately, below Suffolk’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. The £300,000 median rests on 144 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £345,000 | 91 |
| Semi-detached | £247,750 | 44 |
| Terraced | £210,000 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The nearest A&E to Worlingham is James Paget Hospital, 9.5 miles away. Men in Worlingham can expect to live to 81.9, women to 85.8 (2019–23). There is no GP practice locally: the nearest is 1.3 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Worlingham | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 85% of commuters, above Suffolk’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. The census counted just over a fifth of workers working mainly from home. Of the commuters living in Worlingham, 7% work in the town itself. Among 16 to 64s, 1.8% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Worlingham. Best known first.
MuseumEast Anglia Transport Museum4.8 km outside town, to the east
MuseumBeccles and District Museum1.5 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseSotterley Hall Estate2.5 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worlingham | 3,618 | — | A | A− | A | B+ |
| Beccles | 9,807 | 0.9 | B | A | C | C |
| Kessingland | 4,242 | 5.7 | B | A | B | C+ |
| Thurlton | 1,145 | 5.7 | — | A− | A− | B |
| Lowestoft | 71,308 | 5.8 | C+ | A | D | C− |
| Bungay | 5,012 | 6.2 | C+ | A | C+ | B− |
| Ditchingham | 1,997 | 6.3 | — | A | A | B |
| Loddon | 2,247 | 7.6 | — | A− | C− | B |
Thurlton, Ditchingham and Loddon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Worlingham is £2,273 for 2026–27, less than in 78% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Suffolk, England
Worlingham is a built-up area of 3,618 people, in the East 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.