Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 6,698: a town in Cheshire, North West.
Hartford does the important things well, at a cost. People here tend to be in good health: life expectancy is 83.2 for men and 87.3 for women. With an A− overall, Hartford sits #16 of 46 in Cheshire. That leaves it better than 83% of UK towns. The drawback is cost of living — homes sell for a median £420,000, about 8.2 times local household income.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Hartford 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 Hartford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 10 buildings inside Hartford’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
7% 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 Hartford.
88% of Hartford’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both Cheshire’s towns (82%) and England’s towns (82%). Disability touches 13% of the town’s population. Also worth knowing: men in Hartford can expect to live to 83.2, women to 87.3 (2019–23). This Cheshire town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 0.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Hartford | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.5% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Secondary results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 49.7, with 54% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Hartford Manor Primary School & Nursery’s results beat just over four in five schools in England like it. Some 3,332 pupils attend the town’s three primaries and two secondaries. Of its 7 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford Manor Primary School & NurseryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 442 | A− |
| St Nicholas Catholic High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,201 | B |
| St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 191 | A− |
The 15-to-24 age group: 9.6%, lower than both Cheshire’s towns (10%) and England’s towns (12%). Over-65s are nearly a quarter of the population. The median resident of Hartford is 48 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Hartford | Cheshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 25% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 8.5% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.6% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 51% | 34% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cheshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The social rented sector houses 4% of households. Private renters make up one in ten households, lower than both Cheshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (21%). Behind the median of £420,000: 429 standard sales inside Hartford’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £477,000 | 279 |
| Semi-detached | £325,000 | 79 |
| Terraced | £180,000 | 41 |
| Flat or maisonette | £180,000 | 30 |
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.
7% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both Cheshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 1 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
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.
Nearly nine in ten commuters drove, above Cheshire’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. For 29% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Work in town: 7% of resident commuters. Working from home was the norm for 48% of workers at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Violence and sexual offences made up 53% of the total. 247 crimes and 30 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Hartford’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violent crime ran at 23.6 per 1,000 residents a year, above Cheshire’s towns (20.3) 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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Hartford. Best known first.
Historic houseVale Royal Abbey1.4 km outside town, to the south
MuseumWeaver Hall Museum & Workhouse1 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumLion Salt Works3.5 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionAnderton Boat Lift2.4 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
10 listed buildings in Hartford.
Church of St John: Photo: Jo Lxix · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Hollies: Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hartford War Memorial: Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Whitehall: Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
6 notable people were born in Hartford.
Ann Todd: Selznick International Pictures, Public domain · Charles Bryant: Rice, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
GCSE results beat 76% of towns in England, and primary results beat 92% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £420,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £180,000, terraced houses £180,000, semi-detached houses £325,000 and detached houses £477,000.
Town in Cheshire, England
Hartford is a built-up area of 6,698 people, in the Cheshire West and Chester 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.