Leiston
Leiston is a town in Suffolk, England, with a population of around 6,495. It has around 1 GP surgery and around 3 restaurants and cafés, 17 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is Saxmundham, 6 km away. The average sold house price is around £283,930, and there were around 54 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly violence & sexual offences. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Leiston area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the East Suffolk area is around the average in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 246,058 residents at roughly 195 people per km².
- Council
- East Suffolk
- County
- Suffolk
- Constituency
- Suffolk Coastal
- Police force
- Suffolk
My Area Score
Excellent
Ranked 43rd of 294 English council areas — better than 85% of them.
A percentile blend of eight open measures (100 = best in England); bars show this area’s England-wide percentile on each. See the rankings · methodology
Weather
22°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 22° / 17° · 81% rain
- Tomorrow: 25° / 17° · Patchy rain nearby
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:23Sunset 19:15
12h 52m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
20US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Norwich Lakenfields, United Kingdom
Crime
42 reported · July 2026▲ 27% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences26
- Anti-social behaviour6
- Public order5
- Criminal damage & arson4
Neighbourhood team: Leiston, Saxmundham and Aldeburgh · Suffolk
Local policing priorities
- Target Anti-social behaviour around both Leiston and Saxmundham town centres, including vehicle ASB and nuisance.
- Overnight offences within the rural community.
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
328 reported road collisions (2024)
105 killed or seriously injured · 419 casualties · 13.3 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
60 food businesses within 2 miles
- 50 rated 4–5 ★ (45 top)
- 3 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Saxmundham (6.0 km)
- 17 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Saxmundham (6.0 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£278,376 average▲ 1.2% YoY
Across East Suffolk · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£840 average monthly rent▲ 4.8% YoY
- 1 bed £602
- 2 bed £791
- 3 bed £938
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
7.8× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 7.8 times median annual pay (7.6× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
EV charging
6 charging locations within ~8 km
- 2 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 150 kW
- Nearest: Co-Op (0.2 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres2
- Gyms1
- Swimming pools1
- Sports pitches21
- Playgrounds5
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
246,058 residents in East Suffolk · 195/km²
- Under 16: 16%
- 16–64: 56%
- 65+: 28%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Around the average in England
Ranked 158 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
7% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,335 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band B (25% of 122,720)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
114 schools · 31,855 pupils
84 primary · 12 secondary · 18 other
Ofsted: 48 of 56 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (86%)
101inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Farlingaye High SchoolGood
- Felixstowe SchoolGood
- Kesgrave High SchoolGood
- Pakefield High SchoolGood
- Thomas Mills High School & Sixth FormGood
- Alde Valley AcademyRequires improvement
- Beccles High SchoolRequires improvement
- Benjamin Britten Academy of Music and Mathematics
- Bungay High School
- East Point Academy
- Ormiston Denes Academy
- Sir John Leman High School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · East Suffolk
Care & health services
691 CQC-registered services
- Care homes196
- GP practices91
- Dentists136
- Homecare agencies209
- Hospitals & hospices15
CQC ratings: 89% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 11 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Suffolk
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 26 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
436 applications decided
92.7% granted · 404 granted, 32 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter
Labour
Suffolk Coastal
Recent votes:
- AyeTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- AyeClosure motion
- NoSocial Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading
- AyeDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Green / Liberal Democrat / Independent coalition
- Lab 11
- Con 15
- LD 9
- Grn 16
- Oth 4
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools3
- GPs & clinics1
- Pharmacies2
- Supermarkets1
- Parks & greens16
- Restaurants & cafés17
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
11,080 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
135 jobs advertised · £59,975 avg
e.g. Project Engineer, Senior Environmental Manager, Senior Engineer - Sizewell C
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£734 median full-time weekly pay
2.8% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£25,540 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
41% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 129,067 certificates
11.8% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
57% low-carbon electricity
Gas 39% · Nuclear 24% · Solar 22% · Biomass 6%
165 gCO₂/kWh · moderate intensity
Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 84.7 yrs women · 81.3 yrs men
70% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.8
- Feeling worthwhile8.1
- Happiness yesterday7.9
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)2.8
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Suffolk Coastal:
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership384 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership322 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office296 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases260 local signatures · 104,741 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test244 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Leiston · 0.2 kmLeiston is a town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is close to Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, 21 miles (34 km) north-east of Ipswich and 90 miles (145 km) north-east of London. The town…
Long Shop Museum · 0.2 kmThe Long Shop Museum is an industrial heritage museum in the town of Leiston in the English county of Suffolk. The museum features the history of Richard Garrett & Sons who manufactured a wide range of industrial and…
Richard Garrett & Sons · 0.3 kmRichard Garrett & Sons was a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, steam engines and trolleybuses. Their factory was Leiston Works, in Leiston, Suffolk, England. The company was founded by Richard Garrett in 1778.
Leiston F.C. · 0.4 kmLeiston Football Club is a football club based in Leiston, Suffolk, England. They are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division Central and play at Victory Road.
Leiston railway station · 0.5 kmLeiston railway station was a station in Leiston, Suffolk. It was opened in 1859 by the East Suffolk Railway and later became part of the Great Eastern Railway on its 8.5 miles (13.7 km) branch line from Saxmundham to…
- Alde Valley Academy · 0.6 km
Alde Valley Academy is a secondary school with academy status in Leiston in the English county of Suffolk. It has approximately 500 pupils aged 11 to 16, and a staff count of approximately 82. It draws pupils from the…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Leiston?
- Leiston is a town in Suffolk, England, in the East Suffolk local authority.
- What is the population of Leiston?
- Leiston has an approximate settlement population of 6,495.
- How deprived is Leiston?
- The East Suffolk local authority, which includes Leiston, is around the average in England on the IoD2019.