Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 3,631 people live in this town, in Essex, East of England.
Work and incomes are strong (A−): mean household income £61,300; 2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. With a B− overall, Lower Nazeing sits #46 of 81 in Essex. Nationally, it does better than 53% of UK towns. Cost of living is its weak spot (D) — the median home sold for £550,000, 8.6 years of area income. Hazards are a real consideration (D−): just over one in ten homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for safety and B for schools.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
The 3 things Lower Nazeing 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 Lower Nazeing is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 25 buildings inside Lower Nazeing’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
4% 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 Lower Nazeing.
Private rents average £1,844 a month across the Epping Forest council area. 151 standard sales inside Lower Nazeing’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £550,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £685,000 | 54 |
| Semi-detached | £525,000 | 80 |
| Terraced | £407,000 | 16 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Its only school is listed below. GCSE results at the 4 secondary schools within 3 km: 47% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 47.1. Key Stage 2 results at the 15 primary schools within 3 km: 64% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nazeing Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 250 | B− |
At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, lower than both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). There is no GP practice in Lower Nazeing: the nearest is 1.6 miles off. The nearest A&E to Lower Nazeing is The Princess Alexandra Hospital, 4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Lower Nazeing | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
85% of commuters drove, above both Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). For 29% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Of the commuters living in Lower Nazeing, 9% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 0.8.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were 41% of the crimes. Police recorded 152 crimes inside Lower Nazeing’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 15 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime ran at 19.7 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Essex’s towns (23.1) 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Lower Nazeing’s listed buildings include Netherhall, Grade I. 4% of homes date from before 1919. Also worth knowing: at the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 5 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
People 65 and over make up a quarter of the town, above Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Lower Nazeing has a median age of 49.3 years. 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Lower Nazeing | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 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 Lower Nazeing. Best known first.
ZooHertfordshire Zoo3.6 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseCopped Hall4.5 km outside town, to the southeast
CastleRye House Gatehouse2 km outside town, to the north
MuseumLowewood Museum1.8 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumEpping Forest District Museum4.8 km outside town, to the southAbbey or prioryAbbey or prioryWaltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills3.6 km outside town, to the southPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Nazeing | 3,631 | — | B− | D | B− | B+ |
| Hoddesdon | 40,615 | 1.7 | B− | D | C | B |
| Roydon | 1,587 | 2.5 | — | C− | C | B+ |
| Cheshunt | 43,694 | 3.2 | C | D | C | C+ |
| Stanstead Abbotts | 3,754 | 3.5 | A− | B− | B− | A− |
| Waltham Abbey | 18,645 | 3.5 | D | C | D | C− |
| Waltham Cross | 11,936 | 3.8 | D | C− | D | C− |
| Hertford Heath | 2,830 | 4 | A+ | C+ | A− | A− |
Roydon has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 2.8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Netherhall. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £550,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £407,000, semi-detached houses £525,000 and detached houses £685,000.
Town in Essex, England
Lower Nazeing is a built-up area of 3,631 people, in the Epping Forest 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.