Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Essex, East of England, this town has 7,659 residents.
Overall, Great Notley earns an A: better than 91% of UK towns, and #11 of 81 in Essex. Work and incomes are strong (A+): households earn a mean £71,572 a year, and 1.4% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Add health to its strengths: life expectancy 81.6 for men, 85 for women. Prices are high against local incomes (C): homes sell for a median £420,000, about 7.1 times local household income.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Great Notley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Great Notley does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 9 buildings inside Great Notley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
1% 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 Great Notley.
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 1% of the total, below Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Listed buildings per head: 12 for every 10,000 residents of Great Notley.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: 44% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 44.2. Some 951 pupils attend Great Notley’s two primaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Court SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 550 | B+ |
Great Notley has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.4 miles away. At the census, 88% of people in Great Notley called their health good or very good, above Essex’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 2.6% of the town. Women here live to 85 on average and men to 81.6 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Great Notley | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.6% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 12% | 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.
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 252 crimes and 73 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Great Notley’s built-up area. Violent crime ran at 13.8 per 1,000 residents a year, below Essex’s towns (23.1) and England’s towns (22) alike. Burglary and damage come to 6.3 per 1,000 residents a year. Violence and sexual offences made up just over two fifths of the total.
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.
Private renters make up one in ten households, below both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). 7% of households live in social housing. Behind the median of £420,000: 280 standard sales inside Great Notley’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £525,000 | 145 |
| Semi-detached | £370,000 | 68 |
| Terraced | £312,500 | 50 |
| Flat or maisonette | £196,000 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 36% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Jobs per working resident: 0.9. At the census, 12% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Essex’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (27%). On top of that, 33% 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
Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 13% of the town. 19% are under 15, higher than both Essex’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of Great Notley is older than 41.6, half younger. Degrees are held by 30% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Great Notley | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.6% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 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 Great Notley. Best known first.
Historic houseLeez Priory3.6 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumWarner Textile Archive1.2 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumBraintree Museum1.5 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionBocking Windmill4.2 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumFlitch Way Railway Carriage Museum700 m outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in Essex, England
Great Notley is a built-up area of 7,659 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Notley | 7,659 | — | A | C | A− | A |
| Rayne | 2,169 | 1.4 | — | B− | B | A |
| Black Notley | 1,932 | 1.7 | — | C+ | B+ | B+ |
| Braintree | 43,179 | 1.9 | C+ | B | C− | C |
| Tye Green | 1,415 | 2.4 | — | C+ | B− | C |
| Great Leighs | 2,968 | 2.4 | A | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Felsted | 1,233 | 4 | — | B− | B+ | A− |
| Silver End | 3,913 | 4.1 | C− | B− | C | C |
Rayne, Black Notley, Tye Green and Felsted 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 £420,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £196,000, terraced houses £312,500, semi-detached houses £370,000 and detached houses £525,000.
Band D council tax in Great Notley is £2,261 for 2026–27, less than in 79% 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.
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.