Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
7,877 residents make their home in this town in Hertfordshire, East of England.
Where it does best is health — life expectancy 83.1 for men, 86.1 for women. Jobs and pay hold up well: households earn a mean £65,878 a year, and 1.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. What counts against it is safety (C+): 27 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 10.6 home and vehicle crimes. Only 38% of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have more crime per resident. It takes 6.1 years of household income in the East Hertfordshire council area to buy the median home, at £430,000. Put together, the subjects come to a B overall, better than nearly two thirds of UK towns. That places it #35 of 50 in Hertfordshire. Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for schools, C+ for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Buntingford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Buntingford does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 97 buildings inside Buntingford’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
10% 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 1910.
Explore the history →97 listed buildings in Buntingford, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Peter Church of England: Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Almhouses: Photo: A2-33 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Aspenden Bridge (Over River Rib): Photo: Antony Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Black Bull Public House: Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Buntingford.
The nearest A&E to Buntingford is Lister Hospital, 8.3 miles away. 3.1% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (3.8%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Self-reported good health: 87% of the town’s residents. One GP practice serves the town.
| Census 2021 | Buntingford | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.1% | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 14% | 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.
Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 51.8, and 54% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. 50% of pupils at the one primary school within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Buntingford’s three primaries and two secondaries have 2,135 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millfield First and Nursery SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 311 | – |
| Freman CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,049 | B+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 4 of them, Grade I 1. For its size, Buntingford has 123 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both Hertfordshire’s towns (53) and England’s towns (39). The town’s listed buildings include the Church of St Peter Church of England, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up a tenth of the total.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 417 offences in Buntingford and 159 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 54% of the crimes. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 15.8 reports per 1,000, higher than both Hertfordshire’s towns (14.2) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Just over one in ten commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census. About 15% of its commuters stay in Buntingford for work. This Hertfordshire town counts 0.5 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The owner-occupied share of households is 75%. 14% live in social housing, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). The £430,000 median rests on 336 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £590,000 | 87 |
| Semi-detached | £440,000 | 108 |
| Terraced | £365,875 | 116 |
| Flat or maisonette | £243,500 | 25 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Residents of Buntingford have a median age of 39.7. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.3% of residents, below Hertfordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Graduates make up 30% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Buntingford | Hertfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 4.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hertfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Town in Hertfordshire, England
Buntingford is a built-up area of 7,877 people, in the East Hertfordshire 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buntingford | 7,877 | — | B | C+ | C+ | A |
| Puckeridge and Standon | 3,861 | 4.3 | B | B− | B+ | A− |
| Walkern | 1,367 | 5.1 | — | C+ | B | A |
| Watton at Stone | 2,614 | 7.3 | A+ | C+ | A | A+ |
| Royston | 17,443 | 7.5 | A− | B− | B− | A |
| Stevenage | 94,462 | 7.5 | C | C | C− | C |
| Baldock | 10,613 | 7.6 | B+ | B | C | C+ |
| Hadham Cross | 1,275 | 7.8 | — | C− | A− | B |
Walkern and Hadham Cross have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 5.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Peter Church of England.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £430,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £243,500, terraced houses £365,875, semi-detached houses £440,000 and detached houses £590,000.
About the middle for its size: 62% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
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.