Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,932 in Essex, East of England.
Black Notley’s standout strength is jobs & income: households earn a mean £72,253 a year, and 2.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Buying the median home, at £370,000, takes 6.3 years of household income in the Braintree council area. The weak point is walkability: on the way to work, 10% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Natural hazards are less of a worry than in most UK towns (A).
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency. Black Notley is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Black Notley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Black Notley is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Black Notley does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Black Notley’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
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 Black Notley.
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.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 27%, below both Essex’s towns (41%) and England’s towns (45%). About 2% of its commuters stay in Black Notley for work. There are 0.5 jobs in Black Notley for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the census, 85% of people in Black Notley called their health good or very good, above both Essex’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). There is no GP practice locally: the nearest is 1.8 miles off. The nearest A&E to Black Notley is Broomfield Hospital, 6.8 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Black Notley | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.4% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
78 crimes and 9 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Black Notley’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Of all the crimes, 62% were violence and sexual offences. Violence came to 19.7 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Essex’s towns (23.1) and England’s towns (22).
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.
10% live in social housing, lower than both Essex’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Renting privately is how 13% of households live. 83 standard sales inside Black Notley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £370,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £490,000 | 23 |
| Semi-detached | £370,000 | 35 |
| Terraced | £340,000 | 19 |
| Flat or maisonette | £177,500 | 6 |
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.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. Relative to its size, Black Notley keeps 83 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Also worth knowing: homes from before 1919 make up 7% of the total, below both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Ages in Black Notley split evenly at 42.5: half are older, half younger. Over-65s are 17% of the population. Degrees are held by 27% of adults, near Essex’s towns (27%) and lower than England’s towns (34%).
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Black Notley | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 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 Black Notley. Best known first.
MuseumCressing Temple Barns3.1 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumWarner Textile Archive1.7 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumBraintree Museum1.9 km outside town, to the northAttractionAttractionBocking Windmill4.8 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumFlitch Way Railway Carriage Museum3.6 km outside town, to the northwestCastleCastleStisted Hall4.7 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Village in Essex, England
Black Notley is a built-up area of 1,932 people, in the Braintree 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Notley | 1,932 | — | — | C+ | B+ | B+ |
| Tye Green | 1,415 | 0.9 | — | C+ | B− | C |
| Great Notley | 7,659 | 1.7 | A | C | A− | A |
| Braintree | 43,179 | 2 | C+ | B | C− | C |
| Silver End | 3,913 | 2.4 | C− | B− | C | C |
| Rayne | 2,169 | 3 | — | B− | B | A |
| Great Leighs | 2,968 | 3 | A | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Witham | 27,395 | 4.5 | C | B | C− | C |
Tye Green and Rayne have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.4 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
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 £177,500, terraced houses £340,000, semi-detached houses £370,000 and detached houses £490,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
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.