Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
6,410 residents make their home in this town in Essex, East of England.
On schools it is strong — primary results beat 72% of towns in England; secondary results beat 66% of towns in England. Galleywood’s overall grade, A−, puts it better than four in five UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #22 of 81 in Essex. What holds it back is safety: 26.9 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 12.1 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 36%. Homes sell for a median £400,000, about 5.9 years of what households in the Chelmsford council area earn.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
The 3 things Galleywood 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 Galleywood is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 8 buildings inside Galleywood’s built-up area.
5% 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 Galleywood.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Galleywood has 12 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, below Essex’s towns (52) and England’s towns (39) alike. Homes built before 1919 account for 5% of the housing.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Of its 3 schools, one is shown below, with the reason. St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior School’s results beat 79% of schools in England like it. Galleywood’s two primaries have 374 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 231 | A− |
8.3% of the population is aged 15 to 24, below Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Under 15: 16% of residents. Galleywood has a median age of 47.2 years. Graduates make up 27% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Galleywood | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Men in Galleywood can expect to live to 81.6, women to 84.8 (2019–23). There is no GP practice here: the nearest is 2 miles off. The nearest A&E to Galleywood is Broomfield Hospital, 5.3 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Galleywood | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.1% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 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 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About 5% of its commuters stay in Galleywood for work. The car took 80% of commuters, higher than both Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). 37% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Galleywood logged 336 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 26 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 46% of recorded crime. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Galleywood has more crime per resident than 64% of them.
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 73% of households. The median sale, £400,000, comes from 179 standard sales inside Galleywood’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £1,439 a month across the Chelmsford council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £580,000 | 43 |
| Semi-detached | £420,000 | 61 |
| Terraced | £345,000 | 56 |
| Flat or maisonette | £185,000 | 19 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Galleywood. Best known first.
CathedralChelmsford Cathedral3.1 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseHylands House2 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumChelmsford Museum1.9 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumEssex Police Museum3.6 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumSandford Mill Museum3.2 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionMarconi New Street Factory3.5 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galleywood | 6,410 | — | A− | B | C+ | B+ |
| Chelmsford | 110,612 | 2.6 | B+ | B | D | B− |
| Stock | 1,573 | 2.6 | — | C | C+ | A− |
| Writtle | 4,703 | 3.1 | A | C+ | B | A− |
| Ramsden Heath | 1,949 | 4.3 | — | C | A− | A− |
| Bicknacre | 2,277 | 4.6 | — | B− | B+ | A |
| Ingatestone | 5,411 | 4.8 | A | C | B− | A |
| Danbury | 6,196 | 4.8 | A | C | B+ | A |
Stock, Ramsden Heath and Bicknacre 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 £400,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £185,000, terraced houses £345,000, semi-detached houses £420,000 and detached houses £580,000. Household incomes are higher than in 86% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B.
Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Town in Essex, England
Galleywood is a built-up area of 6,410 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.