Crap Towns / Suffolk / Ipswich
Ipswich
15/100Crap Score
835th crappest of 984 towns, and 3rd in Suffolk. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
Got something to say about Ipswich? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
At least it's not Norwich.
The waterfront's had money spent on it. The town centre's had empty shops added.
Ipswich has a smart new waterfront and a town centre that's been left to fend for itself. Walk five minutes from the marina and it's To Let signs and litter. Norwich fans call it Ipshit. They're not completely wrong, but don't say it near Portman Road.
The bookies are doing better than the shops, at nearly twice the typical town per head. The takeaways are spotless, mind, with 1 dodgy rating out of 113. The kitchens in Ipswich are cleaner than the streets. Norwich won't want to hear that.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Ipswich's 77 for air pollution means it's crapper than 77% of towns.
- Air pollution77/1009.8 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.4 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Serious road collisions71/1003.0 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson61/1007.9 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping29/1007.4 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Ipswich council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Anti-social behaviour25/1007.4 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Sewage spills22/10051.2 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Deliberate fires19/1003.6 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Broadband16/1003.7% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 3.5% across the Ipswich council area
- Rain9/100113 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Food hygiene2/1000.9% rated 0 to 2, of the 860 food businesses with a rating
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lowestoft | 40 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.2 | Sudbury | 30 |
| 3 | Ipswich | 15 |
| 4 | Haverhill | 11 |
| 5 | Newmarket | 9 |
| 6 | Stowmarket | 7 |
| 7 | Felixstowe | 6 |
| 8 | Woodbridge | 4 |
| 9 | Bury St Edmunds | 3 |
| 10 | Kesgrave | 0 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Ipswich by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 87.2 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 14% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 89 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 5.9 per 10,000 people, 1.7x the typical town's 3.4
- 6 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 59 pubs, 90 hairdressers, 32 charity shops, 19 bookmakers, 5 vape shops, 13 banks, 7 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.9% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (1 of 113) Better: 78% lower than the typical town's 4.0%
- 2 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Better: 1.3 per 100,000 people, 62% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 22 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.5 per 10,000 people, 6% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 17 public swimming pools open Better: 1.1 per 10,000 people, 1.6x the typical English town's 0.7
- 1 place on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 11.52pm last bus out on a Wednesday Worse: Earlier than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.4% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 20% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 15.5% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space About the same: About the same as the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,697 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 11% higher than the typical town's 1,532
Ipswich council
- £2,468 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £76 more than the English average
- 22% of Suffolk County Council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Worse: 38% higher than England's 16%
- 1 ombudsman complaint upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Ipswich against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.