Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village in Essex, East of England, home to 1,794 people.
Jobs and pay hold up well: the mean household earns £69,047 a year. Residents are healthier than most: life expectancy 81.7 for men, 84.5 for women. At a median £440,000, a home costs 7.1 times the yearly income of households in the Colchester council area. Natural hazards are less of a worry than in most UK towns (A).
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency. An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Copford is graded subject by subject only.
The 3 things Copford 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 Copford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Copford is graded subject by subject only.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Copford’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
15% 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 Copford.
14% of residents have a disability, lower than both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). Asked at the census, 86% of residents of Copford said they were in good or very good health. Seeing a GP means leaving Copford: the nearest practice is 1.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Copford | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.8% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 48.3, with 52% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. The one school in town appears below. At the 8 primary schools within 3 km, 63% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 202 | A− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
17% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census. About 4% of its commuters stay in Copford for work. Driving is how 80% of commuters got to work at the census. Unemployment benefit claims came to 2.1% of 16 to 64s in 2026, lower than both Essex’s towns (2.5%) and England’s towns (2.3%).
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.
Scaled to its population, that is 111 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in Copford. Grade II* covers 1 of them. The national list protects one ancient monument in the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social renters account for 5% of households. Private rents average £1,197 a month across the Colchester council area. Also worth knowing: the median sale, £440,000, comes from 99 standard sales inside Copford’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £505,000 | 58 |
| Semi-detached | £340,000 | 23 |
| Flat or maisonette | £157,500 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were nearly two fifths of the crimes. Per 1,000 residents, 15.8 violent crimes are recorded each year. Police figures for Copford’s built-up area: 84 crimes and 3 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026.
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.
Among adults, 32% have a degree. People 65 and over make up 22% of the town, higher than both Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). At 44.8, the median resident of Copford sits in the middle of the age range.
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Copford | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.6% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copford | 1,794 | — | — | C+ | B | A− |
| Marks Tey | 1,817 | 1.4 | — | B+ | B+ | A− |
| Eight Ash Green | 1,769 | 1.6 | — | B− | C+ | A |
| West Bergholt | 3,175 | 3.3 | A+ | B− | B+ | A |
| Layer-de-la-Haye | 1,338 | 3.4 | — | C+ | A− | A |
| Colchester | 130,259 | 4.4 | B | A− | D | C |
| Berechurch | 7,702 | 4.8 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Coggeshall | 3,767 | 4.8 | B | C+ | B− | B+ |
Marks Tey, Eight Ash Green and Layer-de-la-Haye have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4.6 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 £440,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £157,500, semi-detached houses £340,000 and detached houses £505,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Village in Essex, England
Copford is a built-up area of 1,794 people, in the Colchester 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.