Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,561 in Essex, East of England.
Where it does best is schools — primary results beat 70% of towns in England; secondary results beat 99% of towns in England. Overall, Boreham earns an A−: better than 84% of UK towns, and #17 of 81 in Essex. Health is a strength: men here can expect to live to 83, women to 86.3. The median home sold for £414,750, 6.1 times what households in the Chelmsford council area earn in a year. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: just over one in ten commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Boreham 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 Boreham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 18 buildings inside Boreham’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
7% 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 Boreham.
Its one school is below. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 59.3, and 78% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. 212 pupils attend Boreham’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boreham Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 212 | C |
Disability touches 15% of Boreham’s population. This Essex town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.5 miles away. At the census, 4.2% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below both Essex’s towns (4.8%) and England’s towns (5.2%).
| Census 2021 | Boreham | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
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.
There are 0.5 jobs in Boreham for each resident in work. The car took 85% of commuters, above both Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). 27% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. About 6% of its commuters stay in Boreham for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Boreham’s listed buildings include the Church of St Andrew, Grade I. 7% of homes date from before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Boreham logged 186 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 10 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 53% of recorded crime. There were 2.5 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8) 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.
Owners make up 70% of households, higher than both Essex’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%). The £414,750 median rests on 138 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Private rents average £1,439 a month across the Chelmsford council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £477,500 | 47 |
| Semi-detached | £414,500 | 45 |
| Terraced | £337,500 | 38 |
| Flat or maisonette | £190,000 | 8 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Residents of Boreham have a median age of 42.2. Degrees are held by 29% of adults, higher than Essex’s towns (27%) yet lower than England’s towns (34%). 18% of residents are children under 15.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Boreham | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 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 Boreham. Best known first.
Historic housePalace of Beaulieu1.5 km outside town, to the west
Park or estate · National TrustBlakes Wood3 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumEssex Police Museum3.8 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumSandford Mill Museum3.4 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionMarconi New Street Factory4.8 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
18 listed buildings in Boreham, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Andrew: Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Old Rectory: Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Six Bells Public House: Photo: Mike Faherty · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Babylon: Photo: Acabashi · CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boreham | 3,561 | — | A− | B− | C+ | A− |
| Hatfield Peverel | 3,622 | 2.6 | C+ | C− | C | B− |
| Chelmsford | 110,612 | 3.2 | B+ | B | D | B− |
| Broomfield | 3,491 | 3.2 | A− | B− | D− | B+ |
| Danbury | 6,196 | 3.4 | A | C | B+ | A |
| Little Waltham | 1,038 | 3.5 | — | C | B− | A− |
| Witham | 27,395 | 4.8 | C | B | C− | C |
| Great Leighs | 2,968 | 4.9 | A | C+ | B+ | A− |
Little Waltham has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Andrew.
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 99% of towns in England. Primary results beat 70%. One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Essex council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £414,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £190,000, terraced houses £337,500, semi-detached houses £414,500 and detached houses £477,500. Household incomes are higher than in 97% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
About the middle for its size: 60% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Town in Essex, England
Boreham is a built-up area of 3,561 people, in the Chelmsford 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.