Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,080 in Essex, East of England.
Jaywick grades D− overall against UK towns: behind almost every UK town. Its strongest subject is walkability (B): 15% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D−): 87.5 violent and sexual offences and 28.9 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 0%. The median home sold for £170,000 in the last three years, 3.8 times what households in the Tendring council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Jaywick 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 Jaywick is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
0% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1933.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Jaywick.
On this, Jaywick is above both Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 make up 10% of residents. Jaywick has a median age of 58.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Jaywick | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 10% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 38% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 43% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 10% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 13% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Martin Frobisher AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 171 | B |
Violence came to 87.5 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Essex’s towns (22.8) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 717 crimes inside Jaywick’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 92 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Jaywick records more crime per resident than 100% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
In the comparison, Jaywick comes below both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
For Jaywick, that is below both Essex’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). Jaywick’s share in bad or very bad health, 16%, is the highest of the 141 towns in Essex. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Jaywick | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 59% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 16% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 37% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Jaywick sits above both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%) on this measure. Social housing holds 2% of households. No town in Essex costs less to buy into than Jaywick, at £170,000, the lowest of 81.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £144,500 | 226 |
| Semi-detached | £221,000 | 52 |
| Terraced | £134,000 | 7 |
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 14% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Jaywick above both Essex’s towns (2.5%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Household income averages £32K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Jaywick. Best known first.
PierClacton Pier2.3 km outside town, to the east
FortJaywick Martello Tower100 m outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionHasty's Adventure Farm Park400 m outside town, to the eastTheme parkTheme parkPavilion Fun Park2.2 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumSt Osyth Museum2.7 km outside town, to the northwestTheme parkTheme parkThe Pavilion Waterpark2.2 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaywick | 5,080 | — | D− | C+ | D− | D− |
| St Osyth | 2,249 | 2 | — | D | C | D |
| Clacton-on-Sea | 53,190 | 2.1 | D− | D | D− | D |
| Point Clear | 1,707 | 3.4 | — | D− | D | C |
| Little Clacton | 2,458 | 3.5 | — | D− | B | C+ |
| Brightlingsea | 8,678 | 4.4 | C− | D | B− | C+ |
| Weeley | 1,285 | 5.2 | — | D− | C+ | C |
| Thorrington | 1,427 | 5.3 | — | D− | A+ | B− |
St Osyth, Point Clear, Little Clacton, Weeley and Thorrington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Police recorded 717 crimes inside Jaywick’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 57% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
GCSE results trail 99% of towns in England, and primary results trail 94% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Essex council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Essex, England
Jaywick is a built-up area of 5,080 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
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.