Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 708 people live in this village, in Essex, East of England.
Wethersfield is below the 1,000 residents fair grades need, but every figure on this page is real. It has 40 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I. 11% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. It skews older: 31% of residents are 65 or over.
The 3 things Wethersfield does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Wethersfield’s built-up area.
36% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Wethersfield, Connecticut, is named after Wethersfield.
USUS editionWethersfield, Connecticut, settled in 1632, takes its name from this village.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wethersfield.
Graduates make up 25% of adults. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.9% of residents, below both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Residents of Wethersfield have a median age of 53.1.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Wethersfield | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 31% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Wethersfield CofE VC Primary School’s results beat 79% of schools in England like it. Below is its only school. Nearly three quarters of pupils at the 3 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wethersfield CofE VC Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 44 | A− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
In 2026, 3% of 16 to 64s were claiming unemployment benefits. 87% of commuters drove, above both Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). Household income averages £64K a year before tax. Of the commuters living in Wethersfield, 4% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Private renters make up 7% of households, below both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). The social rented sector houses 9% of households. The median sale, £390,000, comes from 23 standard sales inside Wethersfield’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £510,000 | 13 |
| Semi-detached | £320,000 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 1.4 reports per 1,000, lower than both Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8). In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 22 crimes and 2 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Wethersfield’s built-up area. Of all the crimes, 50% were 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.
There is no GP practice in Wethersfield: the nearest is 1.9 miles off. At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, lower than both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Wethersfield is Broomfield Hospital, 12.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Wethersfield | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Wethersfield has 565 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Its listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene, Grade I. Conservation areas cover 49% of the town’s land, higher than both Essex’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%). Also worth knowing: at the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 2 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wethersfield | 708 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Great Bardfield | 1,372 | 2.2 | — | C | A− | A |
| Sible Hedingham | 4,261 | 4.5 | B− | B | B− | B+ |
| Gosfield | 1,453 | 4.6 | — | C− | A+ | B |
| Castle Hedingham | 1,045 | 5.2 | — | B− | A− | B+ |
| Great Yeldham | 1,824 | 5.2 | — | B− | B− | A− |
| Stebbing | 1,061 | 5.3 | — | B+ | A+ | A |
| Rayne | 2,169 | 5.5 | — | B− | B | A |
Great Bardfield, Gosfield, Castle Hedingham, Great Yeldham, Stebbing and Rayne have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 23.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £390,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: semi-detached houses £320,000 and detached houses £510,000. Private rents in the Braintree council area averaged £1,213 a month in August 2026.
Village in Essex, England
Wethersfield is a built-up area of 708 people, in the Braintree 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.