Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,364 in Essex, East of England. Just 12% of residents are 65 or older.
The picture is mixed. Police record more crime here than in most towns: 34.6 violent and sexual offences and 20.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only 13% of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have more crime per resident. Aveley grades C+ overall and ranks #59 of 81 in Essex. Nationally, it does better than 37% of UK towns. It also trails on health (C−): men here can expect to live to 76.8, women to 82.5. Where it does best is schools — primary results beat 99% of towns in England; secondary results beat 67% of towns in England. A median £370,000 buys a home here, 6.4 times what households in the Thurrock council area earn in a year. Fewer journeys need a car (A−): 22% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Aveley 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 Aveley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Aveley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
2% 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 Aveley.
Attainment 8 at the 5 secondary schools within 3 km averages 48.8, and nearly half of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Aveley Primary School’s results beat 92% of schools in England like it. Its three schools are below. Some 1,448 pupils attend the town’s two primaries and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenningtons Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 429 | A |
| Park AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 594 | D |
| Aveley Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 425 | A |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 2% of the total, lower than both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%). Aveley’s listed buildings include the Church of St Michael, Grade I. One scheduled monument lies here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 671 crimes and 109 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Aveley’s built-up area. There were 10.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. 46% 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For just over a third of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Of the commuters living in Aveley, 6% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 0.5. 23% of workers worked mainly from home, below Essex’s towns (31%) and England’s towns (31%) alike.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
15% of residents have a disability, lower than both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). One GP practice serves the town; nearly half of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Aveley is Darent Valley Hospital, 4.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Aveley | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.7% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 17% | 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.
Social renters account for just over a fifth of households. The median sale, £370,000, comes from 312 standard sales inside Aveley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. 65% of households own their home, close to Essex’s towns (67%) and above England’s towns (61%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £512,500 | 12 |
| Semi-detached | £400,000 | 109 |
| Terraced | £360,000 | 151 |
| Flat or maisonette | £200,000 | 40 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Among adults, 25% have a degree. People 65 and over make up 12% of the town, below both Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). The median resident of Aveley is 35.9 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Aveley | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 12% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.8% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 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 Aveley. Best known first.
Museum · National TrustRainham Hall3.2 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumRAF Hornchurch Heritage Centre4.5 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumThurrock Museum4.6 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumPurfleet Heritage Centre900 m outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumEssex Fire Museum4 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
5 notable people were born in Aveley.
Robert W. Gibson: Moses King, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aveley | 9,364 | — | C+ | C− | C− | C− |
| Purfleet-on-Thames | 5,881 | 1.4 | B− | B | D | C− |
| South Ockendon | 22,441 | 1.6 | C+ | C | C− | D |
| Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock | 23,589 | 2.1 | B | C | D | C+ |
| Grays | 44,340 | 3.6 | C+ | C | C− | C |
| Stone | 6,438 | 4.1 | C+ | C+ | D− | C− |
| Swanscombe | 15,462 | 4.1 | C+ | B− | D | C− |
| Dartford | 69,131 | 4.2 | B | C+ | D | C |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
A young town. At the 2021 Census, 22% of residents were under 15 and 30% were 25 to 44, against 18% and 27% across England’s towns; only 12% were 65 or over.
Secondary results beat 67%. Aveley has 3 state schools; places are handled by Thurrock council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £370,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £200,000, terraced houses £360,000, semi-detached houses £400,000 and detached houses £512,500.
Town in Essex, England
Aveley is a built-up area of 9,364 people, in the Thurrock 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.