More weak spots than strong ones. Its schools fall short (D): primary results beat 19% of towns in England; secondary results beat 2% of towns in England. At D− overall, Harwich ranks #79 of 81 in Essex. Set against the rest, it does behind almost every UK town. It also trails on jobs & income — the mean household earns £46,995 a year. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 20% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Buying the median home, at £250,000, takes 5.6 years of household income in the Tendring council area. Safety is weaker too — 47.6 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 14.8 home and vehicle crimes. Only nearly a fifth of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Harwich is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Harwich.
Who lives here
Fewer people in Harwich hold a degree than in Essex’s towns or England’s towns: 18%
A quarter of residents are 65 or over, above both Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Under-15s account for 17% of the population. The age that splits Harwich in two is 46.
46median age
HarwichEssexEngland
Ages · share of residents
25%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications24%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level18%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
SchoolsD
Results at Harwich’s schools trail 93% of towns in England
Harwich’s seven primaries and one secondary have 2,890 pupils between them. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. At the town’s 6 primary schools, 55% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 8 schools →
History
Old homes shape Harwich: 25% were built before 1919, more than in Essex’s towns and across England’s towns
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Harwich has 98 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Its listed buildings include the Guildhall, Grade I. Of the town’s 199 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, Grade I counts 2 and Grade II* 12.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade D
More households rent privately in Harwich than in Essex’s towns or across England’s towns: 22%
Social housing holds 12% of households, lower than both Essex’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,053 a month across the Tendring council area. Also worth knowing: half of the 897 standard sales inside Harwich’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £250,000.
£250Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Harwich£250K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£335,000
328
Semi-detached
£245,000
251
Terraced
£195,000
238
Flat or maisonette
£126,247
80
65%
of households own their home · England 61%
22%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,053
average private rent a month, Tendring council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Harwich has more crime per resident than 89% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 1,811 recorded crimes inside Harwich’s built-up area, and 226 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Harwich records more crime per resident than 81% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Violence and sexual offences made up 54% of the total.
47.6violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 19% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual978
Damage & arson205
Shoplifting175
Public order115
Other theft110
Vehicle crime56
Other crime48
Burglary44
Anti-social226
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.
47.6
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
14.8
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
9
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
Health
More people in Harwich live with a disability than in Essex’s towns or across England’s towns: 22%
2 GP practices serve the town; just over two thirds of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 77% of people in Harwich rate their own health good or very good. At the census, 6.8% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above Essex’s towns (4.8%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. Men in Harwich can expect to live to 77.4, women to 81.8 (2019–23).
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
More people aged 16 to 64 in Harwich claim unemployment benefits than in Essex’s towns or England’s towns: 4.8%
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Harwich counts 0.5 jobs per working resident. Work in town: 35% of resident commuters. The car carried 78% of commuters at the census.
Roy Salvadori: C5813, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mick Rogers: Moehre1992, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kate Hall: Photographer & Edit: Marc Cantarellas-Calvó, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tony Newton, Baron Newton of Braintree: This file comes from the Wellcome Collection, a website operated by Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation based in the United Kingdom. Refer to Wellcome blog post (archive). This tag does no…, CC BY 4.0 · Christopher Jones: Ethan Doyle White, CC BY-SA 4.0
Shotley Gate, Trimley St Martin, Holbrook and Kirton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Harwich
How many listed buildings are there in Harwich?
That is 4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Guildhall. It also has 6 scheduled monuments.
About Harwich
Large town in Essex, England
Harwich is a built-up area of 20,219 people, in the Tendring 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
Population
20,219 (Census 2021)
Council
Tendring
County
Essex
Region
East of England
Area
1.9 sq mi (5 km²)
ONS code
E63004012
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.
