Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 2,773 residents, it is a town in Essex, East of England.
Great Totham grades A+ overall, better than 97% of UK towns, and ranks #5 of 81 in Essex. Its strongest is safety — police record 8.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 2.6 home and vehicle crimes. What holds it back is walkability (C−): on the way to work, 9% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. It takes 7.2 years of household income in the Maldon council area to buy the median home, at £432,500.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
The 3 things Great Totham 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 Great Totham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 15 buildings inside Great Totham’s built-up area.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Great Totham. Best known first.
MuseumThe Museum of Power2.5 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleThe Moot Hall3.9 km outside town, to the south
MuseumMaeldune Heritage Centre3.9 km outside town, to the south
MuseumMuseum in the Park4.3 km outside town, to the south
MuseumTiptree Jam Museum3.4 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumCombined Military Services Museum3.5 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Great Totham.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 31 offences in Great Totham and 3 cases of nuisance behaviour. For its size, Great Totham records less crime per resident than 99% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 0.6 reports per 1,000, lower than both Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8). Of all the crimes, 61% were violence and sexual offences.
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.
Great Totham Primary School’s results beat 95% of schools in England like it. Its one school is below. Two thirds of pupils at the 3 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Totham Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 431 | A+ |
At the census, 84% of people in Great Totham called their health good or very good, above Essex’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. 4.1% of residents report bad or very bad health. This Essex town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.7 miles away. Life expectancy here is 85.1 for women and 83.5 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Great Totham | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.1% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.7%. 29% of commuters travelled under 5 km, below both Essex’s towns (41%) and England’s towns (45%). The census counted 38% of workers working mainly from home.
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.
Homes from before 1919 make up just over a tenth of the total, close to Essex’s towns (11%) and below England’s towns (16%). For its size, Great Totham has 54 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds 8% of households, below Essex’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The private rented sector houses 7% of households. Private rents average £1,139 a month across the Maldon council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £512,500 | 75 |
| Semi-detached | £368,000 | 23 |
| Terraced | £357,500 | 5 |
| Flat or maisonette | £195,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
8% of residents are 15 to 24, lower than both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). The share of residents under 15 is 17%. Great Totham has a median age of 48.8 years. Degrees are held by 29% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Great Totham | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Totham | 2,773 | — | A+ | C+ | A+ | A |
| Wickham Bishops | 1,923 | 0.8 | — | C | A | A |
| Witham | 27,395 | 3 | C | B | C− | C |
| Maldon | 23,389 | 3.1 | C+ | B | C | B− |
| Tiptree | 9,302 | 3.7 | B+ | B | B− | B+ |
| Tolleshunt Knights | 1,059 | 3.8 | — | C+ | A+ | A− |
| Hatfield Peverel | 3,622 | 3.9 | C+ | C− | C | B− |
| Kelvedon and Feering | 4,771 | 4.5 | A− | C | C+ | B |
Wickham Bishops and Tolleshunt Knights have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 2.2 times the typical UK town for its size.
Primary results beat 77% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Essex council.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £432,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £195,000, terraced houses £357,500, semi-detached houses £368,000 and detached houses £512,500.
Town in Essex, England
Great Totham is a built-up area of 2,773 people, in the Maldon 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.