Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are only 10% of the population. 14,187 people live in this town in Essex, East of England.
Crime is the sore point (D−): police record 55.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 35.9 home and vehicle crimes. Its strongest is walkability: 31% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. The median home sold for £320,000, 5.5 times what households in the Thurrock council area earn in a year. Overall, that makes a C−, good for #68 of 81 in Essex. On that grade it does better than 23% of UK towns. Residents’ health trails most towns: life expectancy 74.5 for men, 78.5 for women.
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.
The 3 things Tilbury 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 Tilbury is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 3 buildings inside Tilbury’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
2% 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 1850.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Tilbury. Best known first.
Fort · English HeritageTilbury Fort200 m outside town, to the southeast
CastleStone Castle4.2 km outside town, to the west
FortCoalhouse Fort2.7 km outside town, to the east
CastleNew Tavern Fort1 km outside town, to the south
PierGravesend town pier600 m outside town, to the southPierPierRoyal Terrace Pier800 m outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Tilbury.
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 1,734 recorded crimes inside Tilbury’s built-up area, and 311 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 18.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. 44% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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 town’s 3 primary schools, 64% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are two of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked. Secondary results at the 13 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 49.6, with 53% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lansdowne Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 667 | B− |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 239 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 14% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
14% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census. Work in town: 23% of resident commuters. Tilbury counts 1.9 jobs per working resident. Households had £50K a year before tax, below Essex’s towns (£63K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
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 2% of the total, lower than both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%). Historic England’s list names 3 listed buildings in Tilbury: 1 Grade II*. This Essex town has one scheduled monument.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
4 GP practices serve the town; 73% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Tilbury is Darent Valley Hospital, 5.1 miles away. At the census, 5.5% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than both Essex’s towns (4.8%) and England’s towns (5.2%).
| Census 2021 | Tilbury | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.5% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Social housing holds 38% of households, above Essex’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Half of the 257 standard sales inside Tilbury’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £320,000. Private rents average £1,380 a month across the Thurrock council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £347,000 | 5 |
| Semi-detached | £353,000 | 55 |
| Terraced | £324,000 | 152 |
| Flat or maisonette | £195,000 | 45 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The 15-to-24 age group makes up 13% of residents. People 65 and over make up 9.6% of the town, below Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Typical age in Tilbury: 32.5, the median.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Tilbury | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 27% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 9.6% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 28% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
3 listed buildings in Tilbury.
Riverside Station, including floating landing stage: Photo: Mike Pennington · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tilbury Fort: Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0 · World's End Inn: Photo: hugh llewelyn · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tilbury Clock Tower War Memorial: Photo: David Anstiss · CC BY-SA 2.0
4 notable people were born in Tilbury.
Harry Pell: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tilbury | 14,187 | — | C− | C+ | D− | D |
| Chadwell St Mary | 10,680 | 1.5 | C− | C | D | D |
| Grays | 44,340 | 2.1 | C+ | C | C− | C |
| Northfleet | 29,892 | 2.2 | C | C | D | C− |
| East Tilbury | 5,751 | 2.5 | C− | C | C− | C |
| Gravesend | 58,105 | 2.6 | D | C− | D | C− |
| Southfields | 1,167 | 3.1 | — | C− | A− | A− |
| Ebbsfleet Valley | 2,989 | 3.1 | B− | C+ | D− | C+ |
Southfields 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, 27% of residents were under 15 and 29% were 25 to 44, against 18% and 27% across England’s towns; only 9.6% were 65 or over.
Band D council tax in Tilbury is £2,255 for 2026–27, less than in 80% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Essex, England
Tilbury is a built-up area of 14,187 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
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.