Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a village of 1,042 residents in Essex, East of England.
Ardleigh’s strongest subject is walkability: on the way to work, 16% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Housing is expensive: homes sell for a median £375,000, about 8.4 times local household income. It lags on schools as well (C−) — primary results beat 23% of towns in England. Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for safety, B for health and B for jobs & income. Hazard risk is weaker too: nearly one in ten homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency. An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Ardleigh is graded subject by subject only.
The 3 things Ardleigh 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 Ardleigh is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Ardleigh’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
19% 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 Ardleigh.
Owners make up 72% of households, above Essex’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. The median sale, £375,000, comes from 43 standard sales inside Ardleigh’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Social renters account for 13% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £577,500 | 18 |
| Semi-detached | £362,750 | 16 |
| Flat or maisonette | £212,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Its only school is listed below. 56% of pupils at the 4 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). 81 pupils attend Ardleigh’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ardleigh St Mary's Church of England Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 81 | C− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 15% of Ardleigh’s land, higher than both Essex’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%). The town counts 18 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade II*. Homes built before 1919 account for 19% of the housing.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 83% of commuters, above both Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). Average household income comes to £59K a year before tax. About nearly a tenth of its commuters stay in Ardleigh for work. The town counts 1.6 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. A disability affects 18% of people in Ardleigh. Women here live to 85.1 on average and men to 79.8 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Ardleigh | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Among the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Ardleigh has more crime per resident than 76% of them. 41 crimes and 6 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside the town’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence came to 26.9 per 1,000 residents a year, above Essex’s towns (22.8) 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
People 65 and over make up 23% of the town, above both Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 count for 16% of the people here. At 46.9, the median resident of Ardleigh sits in the middle of the age range. Degrees are held by 28% of adults.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ardleigh | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.7% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Ardleigh. Best known first.
MuseumThe Munnings Art Museum2.4 km outside town, to the north
GardenBeth Chatto Gardens4.6 km outside town, to the southAttractionAttraction · National TrustFlatford Mill4.1 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumBoxted Airfield Museum3.8 km outside town, to the westArt galleryArt galleryESCALA Gallery4.4 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardleigh | 1,042 | — | — | D− | C+ | B |
| Elmstead Market | 1,767 | 2.9 | — | D− | C | B |
| Lawford | 4,488 | 3 | B+ | D− | B | B |
| Manningtree | 1,676 | 3.6 | — | D− | C | B− |
| East Bergholt | 2,211 | 3.9 | — | B− | B+ | A |
| Brantham | 2,081 | 4.3 | — | B+ | A− | A |
| Colchester | 130,259 | 4.4 | B | A− | D | C |
| Wivenhoe | 7,354 | 4.4 | A | B+ | B+ | A |
Elmstead Market, Manningtree, East Bergholt and Brantham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 7.1 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Primary results trail 77% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Essex council.
Police recorded 41 crimes inside Ardleigh’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 41% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Village in Essex, England
Ardleigh is a built-up area of 1,042 people, in the Tendring 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.