Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,490 in Essex, East of England.
Ashingdon grades A overall against UK towns: better than 89% of UK towns, and #13 of 81 in Essex. Its strongest subject is safety (A): 12 violent and sexual offences and 6.7 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is cost of living (C+): median sale £380,000, 6.2 years of area income; rent £1,300 a month.
The 3 things Ashingdon 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 Ashingdon is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 2 buildings inside Ashingdon’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
2% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ashingdon.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 100% of Ashingdon’s land, above both Essex’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%). 2% of homes were built before 1919. Ashingdon has 2 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lift AshingdonLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 206 | A+ |
In the comparison, Ashingdon comes above both Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Under-15s account for 15% of the population. Ashingdon has a median age of 49.6.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ashingdon | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Violent crime ran at 12 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Essex’s towns (23.1) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 144 crimes inside Ashingdon’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 13 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 52% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
For Ashingdon, that is below both Essex’s towns (4.8%) and England’s towns (5.2%). One GP practice serves the town; 89% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 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.
| Census 2021 | Ashingdon | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Ashingdon sits above both Essex’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%) on this measure. Social housing holds 3% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £482,500 | 100 |
| Semi-detached | £360,000 | 130 |
| Terraced | £310,000 | 29 |
| Flat or maisonette | £207,500 | 18 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Ashingdon below both Essex’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (27%). The car carried 85% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Ashingdon. Best known first.
Abbey or prioryPrittlewell Priory4.7 km outside town, to the southHistoric houseHistoric houseOld House1.7 km outside town, to the southeastHistoric siteHistoric siteRochford Hall1.6 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
2 listed buildings in Ashingdon.
Church of St Andrew: Photo: Lonpicman · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ashingdon Hall: Photo: Glyn Baker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashingdon | 6,490 | — | A | C+ | A | B+ |
| Rochford | 12,617 | 1.3 | C− | C+ | D | C |
| Hockley and Hawkwell | 15,430 | 1.4 | A | C | A− | A |
| Canewdon | 1,216 | 2.5 | — | B− | A− | C− |
| Hullbridge | 5,709 | 3.5 | B | C | B− | B |
| Rayleigh | 32,383 | 3.7 | B+ | C | B− | B+ |
| Southend-on-Sea | 182,295 | 3.9 | C | C | D | C− |
| South Woodham Ferrers | 16,029 | 4.4 | A | B | B+ | A− |
Canewdon has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £380,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £207,500, terraced houses £310,000, semi-detached houses £360,000 and detached houses £482,500.
Town in Essex, England
Ashingdon is a built-up area of 6,490 people, in the Rochford 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.
