Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
8,086 residents make their home in this town in Essex, East of England. Over-65s are 23% of the population.
Crime runs high: 36.4 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 20 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 88%. A median £420,000 buys a home here, 6.2 times what households in the Chelmsford council area earn in a year. Its best grade is for walkability (B+): 19% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Overall, that makes a C+, good for #51 of 81 in Essex. That leaves it better than just over two fifths of UK towns. The rest of its grades are middling: C+ for health, B for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Runwell 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 Runwell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 6 buildings inside Runwell’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Runwell.
23% of residents are 65 or over. The 15-to-24 age group: 8.5%, below Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Half the people of Runwell are older than 43.1.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Runwell | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Between them, two primaries teach 538 pupils in Runwell. Of its 3 schools, one is shown below, with the reason. Key Stage 2 results at the 10 primary schools within 3 km: just over three in five pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runwell Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 362 | C− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Runwell has 7 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, lower than both Essex’s towns (52) and England’s towns (39). Its listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 4% of the total.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Runwell logged 578 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 118 complaints of anti-social conduct. Of all the crimes, 49% were violence and sexual offences. There were 9.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8).
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Driving is how 79% of commuters got to work at the census. 3% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, higher than both Essex’s towns (2.5%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Households take home £57K a year before tax, on average. Of the commuters living in Runwell, 4% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Runwell has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 0.7 miles away. The nearest A&E to Runwell is Basildon University Hospital, 5.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Runwell | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Social housing holds 9% of households. 10% rent privately, below both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). 381 standard sales inside Runwell’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £420,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £565,000 | 143 |
| Semi-detached | £390,000 | 159 |
| Terraced | £347,500 | 46 |
| Flat or maisonette | £192,000 | 33 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Runwell. Best known first.
Garden · RHSRHS Garden, Hyde Hall3.9 km outside town, to the northeastWildlife parkWildlife parkBarleylands Farm Park4.9 km outside town, to the southwestZooZooCall of the Wild Zoo3.5 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
6 listed buildings in Runwell, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Mary: Photo: Angela Tuff · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Burr Hall: Photo: MadeInBasildon · CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runwell | 8,086 | — | C+ | B− | C− | C+ |
| Wickford | 27,533 | 1 | B | C− | B− | B |
| Ramsden Heath | 1,949 | 2.3 | — | C | A− | A− |
| Crays Hill | 1,218 | 2.6 | — | D | C+ | B+ |
| North Benfleet | 1,765 | 3.6 | — | D | C− | D |
| Hullbridge | 5,709 | 4 | B | C | B− | B |
| South Woodham Ferrers | 16,029 | 4.1 | A | B | B+ | A− |
| Basildon | 115,935 | 4.2 | D | C+ | D− | D |
Ramsden Heath, Crays Hill and North Benfleet have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £420,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £192,000, terraced houses £347,500, semi-detached houses £390,000 and detached houses £565,000.
GCSE results trail 76% of towns in England, and primary results trail 51% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Runwell has 3 state schools; places are handled by Essex council.
Town in Essex, England
Runwell is a built-up area of 8,086 people, in the Chelmsford 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.
