Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,540 residents make their home in this town in Essex, East of England. Over-65s are 26% of the population.
Jobs and pay hold up well: mean household income £71,657; 1.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Theydon Bois’s overall grade of A− puts it better than just over four in five UK towns, #21 of 81 in Essex. It is easy to get around without a car (A): on the way to work, 24% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. The catch is cost of living: homes sell for a median £850,000, about 13.2 times local household income.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · 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 Theydon Bois is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Theydon Bois does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 9 buildings inside Theydon Bois’s built-up area.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard.
Explore the history →9 listed buildings in Theydon Bois.
Queen Victoria Public House: Photo: Ewan Munro from London, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Heathfield Cottage: Photo: Lee Holmes · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Bull Public House: Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Parish Church of St Mary: Photo: Lynda Poulter · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Theydon Bois.
Private renters make up one in ten households, lower than both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). Nearly one in ten households rent from a council or housing body. Theydon Bois is the most expensive of the 81 towns in Essex: its median sale is £850,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £935,000 | 35 |
| Semi-detached | £870,000 | 52 |
| Terraced | £668,000 | 13 |
| Flat or maisonette | £327,500 | 8 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The town has one school, shown below. At the 9 primary schools within 3 km, 64% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Secondary results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 49.8, with 54% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theydon Bois Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 319 | B− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 46% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
46% of workers worked mainly from home, higher than both Essex’s towns (31%) and England’s towns (31%). For every resident in work, Theydon Bois has 0.4 jobs. Of the commuters living here, 6% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
37% of adults hold a degree, above Essex’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (34%) alike. Children are 16% of the town. Theydon Bois has a median age of 47.8.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Theydon Bois | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.1% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
There is no GP practice in Theydon Bois: the nearest is 1.6 miles off. Disability touches 14% of Theydon Bois’ population. 85% of Theydon Bois’ residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above both Essex’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Theydon Bois is King George Hospital, 6.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Theydon Bois | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.1% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 11% of the total, close to Essex’s towns (11%) and below England’s towns (16%). For its size, Theydon Bois has 25 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The violent crime rate is 16.1 per 1,000 residents a year. 157 crimes and 12 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Theydon Bois’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences were 39% of the crimes.
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Theydon Bois. Best known first.
Historic houseCopped Hall2.1 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseHill Hall3.3 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumEpping Signalling Museum1.7 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in Essex, England
Theydon Bois is a built-up area of 3,540 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theydon Bois | 3,540 | — | A− | D | B− | A− |
| Epping | 10,693 | 1.8 | B+ | D | C− | B |
| Abridge | 1,651 | 1.8 | — | C− | B− | B+ |
| Loughton | 33,338 | 2.1 | B | C− | C | B |
| Coopersale | 1,067 | 2.8 | — | C− | B+ | B+ |
| Thornwood Common | 1,030 | 3.6 | — | D | B− | B |
| Chigwell Row | 2,115 | 3.7 | — | C− | C | B+ |
| Waltham Abbey | 18,645 | 3.8 | D | C | D | C− |
Abridge, Coopersale, Thornwood Common and Chigwell Row 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 £850,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £327,500, terraced houses £668,000, semi-detached houses £870,000 and detached houses £935,000.
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 76% of towns in England. Primary results are closer to the middle, beating 63%. One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Essex council.
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.