Matching Green’s story
29 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade II*
Historic England lists them inside Matching Green’s built-up area.
32% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
Matching GreenEssex
Population 127: a village in Essex, East of England.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Glyn Baker · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
127
Census 2021 · Epping Forest council
Median age
50.5
26% are 65+ · Essex 20%
Degree level
34%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
20%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Matching Green a good place to live?
Towns under 1,000 residents aren’t graded, so Matching Green has no grades; its figures are still real. It has 29 listed buildings, 0 of them Grade I. It skews older: 26% of residents are 65 or over. Mortgage-free owners make up 45% of households.
What makes Matching Green stand out
The 3 things Matching Green does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Matching Green.
Who lives here
Children make up only 14% of Matching Green, fewer than in Essex’s towns and England’s towns
50.5median age
People 65 and over make up 26% of the town, above Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The share aged 15 to 24 is 15%. The median resident of Matching Green is 50.5 years old. Degrees are held by just over a third of adults.
Matching GreenEssexEngland
Ages · share of residents
26%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications18%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar13%
Degree level34%
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 115 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Matching Green | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 12% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 34% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Work & commute
Only 20% of commuters in Matching Green go to work without a car, fewer than in Essex’s towns and England’s towns
20%walk, cycle or ride
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 48% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £63K a year before tax, near Essex’s towns (£63K) and higher than England’s towns (£55K). At the census, 48% of workers worked mainly from home. For every resident in work, Matching Green has 0.6 jobs.
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving77%
Underground, tram13%
On foot3%
Train3%
0%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
48%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£63K
mean household income, before tax
2.5%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Housing
Matching Green is a town of owners: 82% of households own their home, above Essex’s towns and England’s towns
£0Kmedian sale
16% of households are private tenants. Social housing holds 2% of households, below Essex’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £1,844 a month across the Epping Forest council area.
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Matching Green£0K
Typical UK town£277K
82%
of households own their home · England 61%
16%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,844
average private rent a month, Epping Forest council area
£2,229
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Burglary and damage hit Matching Green harder than Essex’s towns or England’s towns: 65.6 per 1,000 residents a year
36.8violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Violence came to 36.8 per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Essex’s towns (23) and England’s towns (22). In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 16 crimes and 1 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Matching Green’s built-up area. Of all the crimes, 25% were violence and sexual offences.
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Vehicle crime5
Violence & sexual4
Damage & arson2
Other theft2
Burglary2
Other crime1
Shoplifting0
Public order0
Anti-social1
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.
36.8
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
65.6
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
10.5
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
16
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
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
Bad health is less common in Matching Green than in Essex’s towns or across England’s towns: 1.6% of residents
86%good or very good health
The nearest A&E to Matching Green is The Princess Alexandra Hospital, 5.8 miles away. A disability affects just over a tenth of people here. At the census, 86% of people in Matching Green called their health good or very good, above both Essex’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). Seeing a GP means leaving Matching Green: the nearest practice is 2.7 miles away.
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 86%Fair 13%Bad or very bad 2%
| Census 2021 | Matching Green | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.6% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 11% | 17% | 17% |
82
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
85.4
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
History
More buildings in Matching Green are listed than in Essex’s towns or England’s towns: 2,283 per 10,000 residents
29listed buildings
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Matching Green’s land, 58% lies in conservation areas, above both Essex’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%). Homes built before 1919 account for 32% of the housing. Grade II* covers 1 of them.
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*1
Grade II28
Among them · Grade II*
- Moat House Grade II*
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
32%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
2,283
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Matching Green
12pages on Matching Green
The big questions
About Matching Green
Village in Essex, England
Matching Green is a built-up area of 127 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
- Population
- 127 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Epping Forest
- County
- Essex
- Region
- East of England
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.4 km²)
- ONS code
- E63004386
Matching Green’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
Hatfield HeathSawbridgeworthShelleyLittle HallingburyNorth Weald BassettHarlowChipping OngarMatching Green
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matching Green | 127 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hatfield Heath | 1,789 | 2.6 | — | B− | B+ | A |
| Sawbridgeworth | 10,471 | 4 | A− | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Shelley | 2,405 | 4.4 | — | C | C | B− |
| Little Hallingbury | 1,434 | 4.6 | — | B− | A− | A |
| North Weald Bassett | 4,323 | 4.7 | B | C− | C+ | B+ |
| Harlow | 93,570 | 5 | D | C− | D | C− |
| Chipping Ongar | 3,922 | 5.3 | C+ | C− | C+ | B+ |
Hatfield Heath, Shelley and Little Hallingbury have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Matching Green
How many listed buildings are there in Matching Green?
That is 93.7 times the typical UK town for its size.
How much is council tax in Matching Green?
Band D council tax in Matching Green is £2,229 for 2026–27, less than in 81% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
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.