Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 3,767 residents and lies in West Sussex, South East.
Health is its strong suit — men here can expect to live to 82.7, women to 87.7. Cuckfield’s overall grade is A+, better than 97% of UK towns. That places it #2 of 40 in West Sussex. What holds it back is cost of living — homes sell for a median £574,000, about 8.2 times local household income.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Cuckfield 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 Cuckfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 89 buildings inside Cuckfield’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
28% 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 Cuckfield.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Historic England’s list names 89 listed buildings in Cuckfield: 1 Grade I, 3 Grade II*. The town’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 28% of the total, higher than both West Sussex’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the 8 primary schools within 3 km: 67% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Both of its schools are shown below. GCSE results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: 57% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 53.3.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, CuckfieldLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 420 | A |
| Warden Park Secondary AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,541 | A− |
Disability touches 14% of Cuckfield’s population. 88% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above both West Sussex’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.5% of the town. One GP practice serves the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Cuckfield | West Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.5% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Over the year to August 2026, 114 offences were reported in Cuckfield, along with 16 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Cuckfield has less crime per resident than 78% of them. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 53% of recorded crime. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 5.1 reports per 1,000, below West Sussex’s towns (11.7) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 48% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For 34% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. At the census, 18% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below West Sussex’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (27%) alike. The census counted 48% of workers working mainly from home. 7% of commuters who live in Cuckfield also work there.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds 12% of households, below West Sussex’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. 15% of households rent privately. Only one of the 40 towns in West Sussex costs more to buy into than Cuckfield, whose median sale is £574,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £872,500 | 68 |
| Semi-detached | £538,500 | 36 |
| Terraced | £435,250 | 37 |
| Flat or maisonette | £247,500 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
19% are under 15, above West Sussex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Typical age in Cuckfield: 45.4, the median. Retirement age and beyond: just over a fifth of residents are 65 or older.
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cuckfield | West Sussex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 9.8% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 9.6% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 47% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Sussex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cuckfield. Best known first.
Historic houseBrantridge Park4.5 km outside town, to the north
Garden · National TrustNT Nymans Gardens4.9 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumWings Museum4.9 km outside town, to the northGardenGardenBorde Hill1.1 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionOuse Valley Viaduct2.4 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
89 listed buildings in Cuckfield, 1 of them Grade I.
Ockenden Manor: Photo: Shazz · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Marshalls: Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · The Rose and Crown Public House: Photo: JThomas · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ye White Harte Inn: Photo: Dave Spicer · CC BY-SA 2.0
55 notable people were born in Cuckfield.
Tara Fitzgerald: Tracy Howl from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dom Dwyer: Fsufiji at English Wikipedia, CC0 · James Vince: Storm machine, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nick Van Eede: Andwhatsnext, aka Nancy J Price - http://andwhatsnext.com/bands, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chris Evans (Australian politician): Parliament @ Work, CC BY 3.0 au · Sally Geeson: Vin Mag, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuckfield | 3,767 | — | A+ | C | B+ | A |
| Haywards Heath | 40,186 | 1.9 | A+ | B | B | A− |
| Balcombe | 1,445 | 3.3 | — | C | A− | B− |
| Burgess Hill | 33,352 | 3.5 | A | B | C+ | B+ |
| Ardingly | 1,646 | 3.6 | — | C+ | A | A+ |
| Handcross | 1,399 | 4.1 | — | B | C+ | B |
| Wivelsfield Green | 1,012 | 4.3 | — | D− | A+ | A+ |
| Horsted Keynes | 1,121 | 5 | — | C | A | A+ |
Balcombe, Ardingly, Handcross, Wivelsfield Green and Horsted Keynes have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 9.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of Holy Trinity.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £574,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £247,500, terraced houses £435,250, semi-detached houses £538,500 and detached houses £872,500.
GCSE results beat 86% of towns in England, and primary results beat 77% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Cuckfield has 2 state schools; places are handled by West Sussex council.
Town in West Sussex, England
Cuckfield is a built-up area of 3,767 people, in the Mid Sussex 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.