Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
728 residents make their home in this village in Essex, East of England.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Finchingfield is too small for fair grades, though the figures on this page are real. 9% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. It has 51 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I. Homes sell for a median £622,500.
The 3 things Finchingfield does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Finchingfield’s built-up area.
33% 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 Finchingfield.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Finchingfield has 0.3 jobs. The car took 89% of commuters, higher than both Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). Households take home £64K a year before tax, on average.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the 3 primary schools within 3 km, 65% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below is its only school. Its one primary school teaches 71 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 71 | B+ |
70% of households are owner-occupiers. Private rents average £1,213 a month across the Braintree council area. Social housing holds 17% of households, higher than Essex’s towns (15%) yet lower than England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £779,950 | 44 |
| Semi-detached | £457,500 | 16 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Finchingfield logged 19 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 2 complaints of anti-social conduct. Homes see 5.5 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 53% of recorded crime. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 2.3 reports per 1,000, lower than both Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8).
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 nearest A&E to Finchingfield is Broomfield Hospital, 13.3 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; just over nine in ten patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 18% of residents in Finchingfield live with a disability.
| Census 2021 | Finchingfield | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 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.
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 a third of the total. Finchingfield’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Grade I. For its size, Finchingfield has 701 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above Essex’s towns (52) and England’s towns (39) alike. The top grade, Grade I, goes to 2 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
28% of residents are 65 or over, higher than both Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for nearly a tenth of the town. Half of Finchingfield is older than 53.1, half younger. Graduates make up 30% of adults.
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Finchingfield | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 34% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
6 notable people were born in Finchingfield.
Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel: Peter Paul Rubens, Public domain · Janie Terrero: Unknown photographer in 1912, Public domain · Evelyn Ruggles-Brise: Leslie Ward, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finchingfield | 728 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Great Bardfield | 1,372 | 1.4 | — | C | A− | A |
| Thaxted | 3,111 | 4.5 | B+ | B+ | C+ | A |
| Stebbing | 1,061 | 5.1 | — | B+ | A+ | A |
| Steeple Bumpstead | 1,376 | 5.4 | — | C | A− | A |
| Great Yeldham | 1,824 | 5.9 | — | B− | B− | A− |
| Sible Hedingham | 4,261 | 5.9 | B− | B | B− | B+ |
| Castle Hedingham | 1,045 | 6.5 | — | B− | A− | B+ |
Great Bardfield, Stebbing, Steeple Bumpstead, Great Yeldham and Castle Hedingham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
By type: semi-detached houses £457,500 and detached houses £779,950.
That is 28.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include The Guildhall.
Band D council tax in Finchingfield is £2,315 for 2026–27, less than in 73% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Village in Essex, England
Finchingfield is a built-up area of 728 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
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.