Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
67,391 people call this large town in Berkshire, South East home.
Mostly strong, with a single weak spot. Maidenhead’s overall grade, B+, puts it better than 70% of UK towns. That places it #20 of 30 in Berkshire. Its strongest subject is jobs & income (A): mean household income £72,573; 2.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. It is strong on walkability as well: on the way to work, 22% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. What holds it back is hazard risk — 6% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Crime runs high: 27.5 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 13.8 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 91%. A median £475,000 buys a home here, 6.6 times what households in the Windsor and Maidenhead council area earn in a year.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Maidenhead 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 Maidenhead is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 72 buildings inside Maidenhead’s built-up area, 5 of them Grade I.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1890.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Maidenhead. Best known first.
MuseumMaidenhead Heritage Centrein town
Historic house · National TrustCliveden House1.7 km outside town, to the northeast
Big drawTheme parkLegoland Windsor3.7 km outside town, to the southeast · 2.3M visitors a year (2024)
Historic houseDorney Court1.2 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseHedsor House2.4 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumStanley Spencer Gallery1.7 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Maidenhead.
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 every resident in work, Maidenhead has 1 jobs. 48% of workers worked mainly from home, higher than both Berkshire’s towns (41%) and England’s towns (31%). The car carried three quarters of commuters at the census. About 36% of its commuters stay in Maidenhead for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Three of its 26 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Lowbrook Academy’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 14 primary schools: 64% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Edmund Campion Catholic Primary School and NurseryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 485 | A+ |
| Furze Platt Senior SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,556 | B− |
| Lowbrook AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 327 | A+ |
12% of residents have a disability, near Berkshire’s towns (13%) and lower than England’s towns (17%). Self-reported good health: 87% of Maidenhead’s residents. The nearest A&E to Maidenhead is Wexham Park Hospital, 6.8 miles away. 10 GP practices serve the town; three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Maidenhead | Berkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 87% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.1% | 3.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 12% | 13% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police recorded 3,861 crimes inside Maidenhead’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 452 reports of anti-social behaviour. 43% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
13% live in social housing, below both Berkshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,797 a month across the Windsor and Maidenhead council area. Also worth knowing: households that own their home make up 66%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £788,000 | 652 |
| Semi-detached | £519,500 | 618 |
| Terraced | £450,000 | 441 |
| Flat or maisonette | £295,000 | 811 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
At the top of the list, 5 are Grade I and 7 Grade II*. Maidenhead’s listed buildings include the Barn at Ockwells Manor, Grade I. Conservation areas cover 99% of the town’s land, above Berkshire’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (7%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Half of Maidenhead is older than 40.8, half younger. The share aged 15 to 24 is 9.6%. Under-15s account for 19% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Maidenhead | Berkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 14% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.1% | 4.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 45% | 40% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Berkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
72 listed buildings in Maidenhead, 5 of them Grade I.
Ockwells Manor and Wall Attached on the South East: Photo: Andrew Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of All Saints: Photo: Michael FORD · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Smythes Almshouses: Photo: Peter Broster · CC0 · Gardeners Arms Public House: Photo: Peter Broster · CC0
52 notable people were born in Maidenhead.
Hugh Lofting: Unknown (Before 1925) Depicts Hugh Lofting (1886-1947), Public domain · Tony Trimmer: Martin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dave McKean: Niccolò Caranti, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jack Beaumont: National Lottery Good Causes, CC BY 3.0 · Tina Brown: Financial Times, CC BY 2.0 · John B: Bizzurp, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maidenhead | 67,391 | — | B+ | C+ | C | B+ |
| Cookham | 5,216 | 2.5 | A | C− | B+ | A |
| Hurley | 1,317 | 3.8 | — | C− | B+ | A+ |
| Bourne End | 7,166 | 4.1 | B | C | B | A |
| Marlow | 14,641 | 4.1 | A | C | B− | A |
| Eton Wick | 2,121 | 4.4 | — | C | C+ | A− |
| Windsor | 31,569 | 5.2 | B | C | C− | B |
| Marlow Bottom | 3,339 | 5.3 | A+ | C | A+ | A+ |
Hurley and Eton Wick have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £475,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £295,000, terraced houses £450,000, semi-detached houses £519,500 and detached houses £788,000.
Large town in Berkshire, England
Maidenhead is a built-up area of 67,391 people, in the Windsor and Maidenhead 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.