Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,676 in Essex, East of England.
Manningtree has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 25% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £330,000, 7.4 years of area income; rent £1,053 a month.
The 3 things Manningtree 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 Manningtree is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 87 buildings inside Manningtree’s built-up area.
31% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1909.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Manningtree.
34% of residents are 65 or over. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 8.8% of residents, lower than both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Ages in Manningtree split evenly at 53.7: half are older, half younger. Graduates make up 36% of adults.
55% women, 45% men
About 82 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.
| Manningtree | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 34% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.7% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Nearly one in ten households rent from a council or housing body. Half of the 167 standard sales inside Manningtree’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £330,000. Owners make up 66% of households, close to Essex’s towns (67%) and above England’s towns (61%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £550,000 | 41 |
| Semi-detached | £347,500 | 22 |
| Terraced | £319,000 | 83 |
| Flat or maisonette | £172,250 | 21 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Per 10,000 residents, Manningtree counts 519 listed buildings, higher than both Essex’s towns (51) and England’s towns (39). Before 1919: that is when 31% of homes were built. Historic England’s list names 87 listed buildings here, every one Grade II.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
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.
Household income came to £55K a year before tax, lower than Essex’s towns (£63K) and near England’s towns (£55K). Just over one in ten commuters who live in Manningtree also work there. Jobs per working resident: 1.2.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
28% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. 114 crimes and 15 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Manningtree’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence accounts for 29.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
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.
At the census, 24% of people here had a disability, above both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). Asked at the census, 77% of residents of Manningtree said they were in good or very good health. The nearest A&E to Manningtree is Colchester General Hospital, 7.4 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 69% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Manningtree | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8.1% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · 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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Manningtree. Best known first.
MuseumThe Munnings Art Museum4.4 km outside town, to the westRuinsRuins · English HeritageMistley Towers500 m outside town, to the eastAttractionAttraction · National TrustFlatford Mill3.1 km outside town, to the northwestAbbey or prioryAbbey or prioryDodnash Priory3.7 km outside town, to the northPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manningtree | 1,676 | — | — | D− | C | B− |
| Lawford | 4,488 | 0.6 | B+ | D− | B | B |
| Mistley | 1,827 | 1.1 | — | D− | C | B |
| Brantham | 2,081 | 1.3 | — | B+ | A− | A |
| Bradfield | 1,254 | 2.2 | — | D− | A+ | B |
| East Bergholt | 2,211 | 3 | — | B− | B+ | A |
| Ardleigh | 1,042 | 3.6 | — | D− | C+ | B |
| Capel St Mary | 2,992 | 4.1 | A | B+ | A | A+ |
Mistley, Brantham, Bradfield, East Bergholt and Ardleigh have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 21.3 times the typical UK town for its size.
Primary schools stand out: Key Stage 2 results beat 94% of towns in England. Secondary results beat 73%. Places are handled by Essex council.
Burglary was rare, with 2 reports in the year.
Village in Essex, England
Manningtree is a built-up area of 1,676 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.