Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are only 12% of the population. Population 22,441: a large town in Essex, East of England.
Some subjects shine; others lag. Health is a weak point: men here can expect to live to 76.2, women to 81.6. Its strongest is walkability — on the way to work, 28% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Schools are another plus (A−): primary results beat 92% of towns in England; secondary results beat 56% of towns in England. It takes 5.9 years of household income in the Thurrock council area to buy the median home, at £345,000. Put together, the subjects come to a C+ overall, ranking #56 of 81 in Essex. On that grade it does better than 38% of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far South Ockendon is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things South Ockendon does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 8 buildings inside South Ockendon’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
2% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →8 listed buildings in South Ockendon, 1 of them Grade I.
Little Belhus: Photo: Hjamesberglen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Royal Oak Inn: Photo: Glyn Baker · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in South Ockendon.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Of the commuters living in South Ockendon, 9% work in the town itself. The town counts 0.4 jobs per working resident. Household income came to £53K a year before tax, lower than Essex’s towns (£63K) and near England’s towns (£55K). 36% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Between them, six primaries and one secondary teach 3,894 pupils in South Ockendon. Of its 8 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. At the town’s 6 primary schools, 72% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dilkes AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 554 | A+ |
| Harris Academy OckendonLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,440 | B |
| Somers Heath Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 415 | A |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
South Ockendon has 4 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. 2% of its homes were built before 1919, below both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%). The register of parks and gardens lists one in the town.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
4 GP practices serve the town; 65% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to South Ockendon is Darent Valley Hospital, 5.5 miles away. 16% of residents in South Ockendon live with a disability.
| Census 2021 | South Ockendon | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Property crime (burglary and damage) runs at 16.5 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 1,651 crimes inside South Ockendon’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 244 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 50% of the total.
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.
Owners make up 59% of households, lower than Essex’s towns (67%) and near England’s towns (61%). 12% of households are private tenants. 645 standard sales inside South Ockendon’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £345,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £505,000 | 47 |
| Semi-detached | £400,000 | 145 |
| Terraced | £340,500 | 312 |
| Flat or maisonette | £205,000 | 141 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Ages in South Ockendon split evenly at 35.7: half are older, half younger. People 65 and over make up just over a tenth of the town, below both Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). 25% of adults hold a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| South Ockendon | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 12% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 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 South Ockendon. Best known first.
Large town in Essex, England
South Ockendon is a built-up area of 22,441 people, in the Thurrock 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Ockendon | 22,441 | — | C+ | C | C− | D |
| Aveley | 9,364 | 1.6 | C+ | C− | C− | C− |
| Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock | 23,589 | 1.9 | B | C | D | C+ |
| Grays | 44,340 | 2.6 | C+ | C | C− | C |
| Purfleet-on-Thames | 5,881 | 2.9 | B− | B | D | C− |
| Orsett | 1,428 | 3.5 | — | D | C | B+ |
| Chadwell St Mary | 10,680 | 4 | C− | C | D | D |
| Swanscombe | 15,462 | 4.3 | C+ | B− | D | C− |
Orsett has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
A young town. At the 2021 Census, 22% of residents were under 15 and 30% were 25 to 44, against 18% and 27% across England’s towns; only 12% were 65 or over.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 69% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less.
Secondary results are closer to the middle, beating 56%.
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.
