Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1,668 people call this village in Bedfordshire, East of England home.
Harrold’s strongest subject is health: men here can expect to live to 82, women to 87.7. Schools are a strength too — primary results beat just over three quarters of towns in England. Natural hazards weigh more here (D): 4.4% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. At a median £330,000, a home costs 5.5 times the yearly income of households in the Bedford council area. Most journeys need a car (C): on the way to work, 11% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · flood risk, Environment Agency · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years. Harrold has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
The 3 things Harrold 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 Harrold is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Harrold has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Harrold’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
32% 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 Harrold.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
32% of homes were built before 1919. Harrold’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Peter, Grade I. Of the town’s 41 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, Grade I counts 1 and Grade II* 1. Conservation areas cover nearly a fifth of the town’s land, higher than both Bedfordshire’s towns (4%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Nearly two thirds of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). There is one school here; it is shown below. 96 pupils attend Harrold’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrold Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 96 | A− |
One GP practice serves the town; 84% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 85% of people in Harrold called their health good or very good, close to Bedfordshire’s towns (84%) and above England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Harrold is Bedford Hospital, 7.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Harrold | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.1% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 15% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
People 65 and over make up 20% of the town, above both Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 count for 16% of the people here. The middle age in Harrold is 47.6.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Harrold | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 35% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.7% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 45% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 46% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 46% of workers worked mainly from home. Household income came to £66K a year before tax, near Bedfordshire’s towns (£68K) and higher than England’s towns (£55K). Also worth knowing: the car carried 85% of commuters at the census. Work in town: 9% of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Police recorded 60 crimes inside Harrold’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 16 reports of anti-social behaviour. Of all the crimes, 38% were violence and sexual offences. Violent crime ran at 17.6 per 1,000 residents a year, below Bedfordshire’s towns (18.8) and England’s towns (22) 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.
Social housing holds one in ten households. Behind the median of £330,000: 59 standard sales inside Harrold’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £1,173 a month across the Bedford council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £565,250 | 20 |
| Semi-detached | £315,000 | 11 |
| Terraced | £296,500 | 24 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Harrold. Best known first.
Historic houseColworth House3.5 km outside town, to the northeast
CastleLavendon Castle3.4 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseTurvey House3.8 km outside town, to the south
Abbey or prioryTurvey Abbey4.1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrold | 1,668 | — | — | B− | B+ | A− |
| Sharnbrook | 1,744 | 3 | — | C+ | B+ | A |
| Bozeat | 2,166 | 3.1 | — | C+ | A | B− |
| Lavendon | 1,469 | 3.1 | — | C | B+ | A− |
| Oakley | 2,507 | 4.2 | A | C+ | A | B+ |
| Wollaston | 3,564 | 4.5 | C+ | C | B | B− |
| Wymington | 1,000 | 4.7 | — | B+ | D− | A− |
| Bromham | 4,652 | 4.9 | A− | C | A+ | A+ |
Sharnbrook, Bozeat, Lavendon and Wymington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 10.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Peter. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
At the 2021 Census, 11% of Harrold’s 1,668 residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Primary results beat 76% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Bedford council.
Village in Bedfordshire, England
Harrold is a built-up area of 1,668 people, in the Bedford 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.