Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
890 residents make their home in this village in Essex, East of England.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Great Waltham is too small for fair grades, though the figures on this page are real. Its listed buildings number 27, with 1 at Grade I. 16% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Over-65s are 25% of the population.
The 3 things Great Waltham does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Great Waltham’s built-up area.
26% 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 Waltham.
Children are 20% of the town. 9.6% of residents are 15 to 24, below both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Line up the people of Great Waltham by age and the one in the middle is 45.3. Degrees are held by just over a third of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Great Waltham | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.9% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its one school is below. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 48, and half of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. At the 2 primary schools within 3 km, 68% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Waltham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 191 | C+ |
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.
Working mainly from home: 38% of workers, above both Essex’s towns (31%) and England’s towns (31%). 28% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Also worth knowing: of the commuters living in Great Waltham, 6% work in the town itself. By car: that was how 84% of commuters travelled at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Just over a fifth of households rent from a council or housing body. Owners make up 71% of households, above Essex’s towns (67%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. 23 standard sales inside Great Waltham’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £367,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-detached | £435,000 | 9 |
| Terraced | £345,000 | 13 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Over the year to August 2026, 39 offences were reported in Great Waltham, along with 1 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 41% of the total. Violent crime ran at 25.1 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Essex’s towns (23) and England’s towns (22).
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.
15% of residents have a disability, below Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. Great Waltham has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 0.9 miles away. The nearest A&E to Great Waltham is Broomfield Hospital, 1.3 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Great Waltham | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as 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 built before 1919 account for 26% of the housing. Great Waltham’s listed buildings include the Church of Ss Mary and Laurence, Grade I. Conservation areas cover just over a third of the town’s land, above both Essex’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%). At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 2 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Village in Essex, England
Great Waltham is a built-up area of 890 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Waltham | 890 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Little Waltham | 1,038 | 0.8 | — | C | B− | A− |
| Broomfield | 3,491 | 1.6 | A− | B− | D− | B+ |
| Great Leighs | 2,968 | 3.3 | A | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Chelmsford | 110,612 | 4.1 | B+ | B | D | B− |
| Boreham | 3,561 | 4.3 | A− | B− | C+ | A− |
| Writtle | 4,703 | 4.5 | A | C+ | B | A− |
| Felsted | 1,233 | 4.7 | — | B− | B+ | A− |
Little Waltham and Felsted have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 12.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of Ss Mary and Laurence.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £367,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £345,000 and semi-detached houses £435,000. Private rents in the Chelmsford council area averaged £1,439 a month in August 2026.
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.