Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
15% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. The town, home to 6,196 people, lies in Essex, East of England.
Pupils here do better than most (A): primary results beat 89% of towns in England. At A overall, Danbury ranks #8 of 81 in Essex. That leaves it better than 92% of UK towns. Health is another plus: life expectancy 82.3 for men, 84.8 for women. Homes are dear: a typical home costs £605,000 and rent runs £1,439 a month. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for walkability and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Danbury 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 Danbury is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 60 buildings inside Danbury’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1866.
Danbury, Connecticut, is named after Danbury.
USUS editionDanbury, Connecticut, settled in 1685, takes its name from this town.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Danbury.
Both of the town’s schools appear below. St John Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Danbury’s results beat 77% of schools in England like it. 70% of pupils at the town’s 2 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danbury Park Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 250 | B+ |
| St John Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School DanburyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 222 | A− |
One GP practice serves the town; half of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Self-reported good health: 85% of Danbury’s residents. At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, below both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Danbury is Broomfield Hospital, 6.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Danbury | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.7% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
11% live in social housing, below Essex’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Home ownership stands at just over four in five households. Half of the 208 standard sales inside Danbury’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £605,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £671,625 | 138 |
| Semi-detached | £470,000 | 45 |
| Terraced | £335,150 | 20 |
| Flat or maisonette | £365,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
For its size, Danbury records less crime per resident than 78% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Reported offences locally came to 182 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 21. Violence and sexual offences accounted for nearly half of recorded crime.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Danbury’s land, 13% lies in conservation areas, above Essex’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. Its listed buildings include the Church of St John the Baptist, Grade I. Per 10,000 residents, Danbury counts 97 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 46% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Work in town: a tenth of resident commuters. The car took 83% of commuters, above Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. What’s more, the census counted 46% of workers working mainly from home.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
38% of adults hold a degree, higher than both Essex’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (34%). Under-15s account for 16% of the population. The median resident of Danbury is 50.6 years old. Aged 15 to 24: 9.4% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Danbury | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.4% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.1% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 38% | 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 Danbury. Best known first.
Historic housePalace of Beaulieu4.5 km outside town, to the northwest
Garden · RHSRHS Garden, Hyde Hall4.6 km outside town, to the south
Park or estate · National TrustBlakes Wood300 m outside town, to the northwest
MuseumThe Museum of Power3.8 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumSandford Mill Museum3.2 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumStow Maries Great War Aerodrome Museum4.8 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
60 listed buildings in Danbury, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St John the Baptist: Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · West Bowers Hall: Photo: Trevor Harris · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Danbury Park: Photo: Glyn Baker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Griffin Inn: Photo: BookerSteve · CC BY-SA 4.0
4 notable people were born in Danbury.
Neil Innes: Neil_Innes_by_Luke_Ford.jpg: Luke Ford derivative work: Tabercil, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Peter Ashdown: Unknown photographer, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danbury | 6,196 | — | A | C | B+ | A |
| Bicknacre | 2,277 | 1.7 | — | B− | B+ | A |
| Boreham | 3,561 | 3.4 | A− | B− | C+ | A− |
| Hatfield Peverel | 3,622 | 4 | C+ | C− | C | B− |
| Maldon | 23,389 | 4.4 | C+ | B | C | B− |
| Chelmsford | 110,612 | 4.5 | B+ | B | D | B− |
| Galleywood | 6,410 | 4.8 | A− | B | C+ | B+ |
| Cold Norton | 1,161 | 5 | — | C | A | B+ |
Bicknacre and Cold Norton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get 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 £605,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £365,000, terraced houses £335,150, semi-detached houses £470,000 and detached houses £671,625.
That is 4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St John the Baptist. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Primary results beat 89% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). Danbury has 2 state schools; places are handled by Essex council.
Town in Essex, England
Danbury is a built-up area of 6,196 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.