Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
39,760 people call this large town in Hertfordshire, East of England home.
A town of contrasts. Safety is its weak spot — 38.1 violent and sexual offences and 18 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 73%. With a C overall, Borehamwood is better than 28% of UK towns and ranks #47 of 50 in Hertfordshire. It is easy to get around without a car: on the way to work, 29% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Homes sell for a median £450,000, about 6.7 years of what households in the Hertsmere council area earn. Its other grades sit near the middle: C+ for schools and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS · claimants, DWP.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Borehamwood is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Borehamwood does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 11 buildings inside Borehamwood’s built-up area.
2% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1920.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Borehamwood.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 36% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £62K a year before tax, lower than Hertfordshire’s towns (£70K) yet higher than England’s towns (£55K). A quarter of commuters who live in Borehamwood also work there. This Hertfordshire town counts 1 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Yavneh College’s results beat just over nine in ten schools in England like it. Three of its 13 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: 49% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 47.3.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meryfield Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 450 | B− |
| Hertswood AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,144 | D |
| Yavneh CollegeTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 1,085 | A |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Relative to its size, Borehamwood keeps 3 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, below both Hertfordshire’s towns (57) and England’s towns (39). Homes from before 1919 make up 2% of the total.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Borehamwood logged 3,325 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 899 complaints of anti-social conduct. There were 24.5 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Hertfordshire’s towns (14.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Just over two fifths 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.
Households that own their home make up 54%. 26% live in social housing, higher than both Hertfordshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,830 a month across the Hertsmere council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,037,500 | 76 |
| Semi-detached | £565,000 | 230 |
| Terraced | £465,000 | 337 |
| Flat or maisonette | £311,125 | 278 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
14% of residents have a disability, about level with Hertfordshire’s towns (14%) and below England’s towns (17%). 3 GP practices serve the town; nearly four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 4.2% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2021 | Borehamwood | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 14% | 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.
People 65 and over make up 13% of the town, below Hertfordshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Typical age in Borehamwood: 37.6, the median. Graduates make up 37% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Borehamwood | Hertfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 31% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 13% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.4% | 4.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hertfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Borehamwood. Best known first.
MuseumRAF Museum4.4 km outside town, to the south
Historic houseBhaktivedanta Manor1.9 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseWrotham Park3.9 km outside town, to the east
CastleHilfield Castle2.4 km outside town, to the west
MuseumBarnet Museum3.3 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
6 notable people were born in Borehamwood.
Keith Spurgeon: Jack de Nijs for Anefo, CC0
Large town in Hertfordshire, England
Borehamwood is a built-up area of 39,760 people, in the Hertsmere 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borehamwood | 39,760 | — | C | C− | C− | C |
| Elstree | 1,737 | 1.7 | — | C− | C | B+ |
| Shenley | 3,556 | 2.5 | B− | D | B | C+ |
| Radlett | 8,182 | 2.7 | A− | D | B− | A+ |
| Bushey | 28,427 | 3.9 | B+ | C− | C+ | A− |
| Potters Bar | 23,394 | 4.4 | B+ | C− | C | B+ |
| Barnet | 388,572 | 4.4 | B+ | C | C | B |
| London Colney | 7,932 | 4.7 | B+ | B | C− | B |
Elstree has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets 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 £450,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £311,125, terraced houses £465,000, semi-detached houses £565,000 and detached houses £1,037,500.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
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.