Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 4,350 people, this town lies in Hertfordshire, East of England.
Residents are healthier than most: life expectancy 83.8 for men, 86.5 for women. Add jobs & income to its strengths (A+) — mean household income £72,187; 1.7% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The drawback is cost of living: the median home sold for £750,000, 11.5 years of area income. Overall, that makes an A, good for #13 of 50 in Hertfordshire. It comes out better than 88% of UK towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B for safety and B for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Cuffley 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 Cuffley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 1 building inside Cuffley’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 1916.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cuffley.
Seeing a GP means leaving Cuffley: the nearest practice is 1.3 miles away. At the census, 3.2% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (3.8%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Also worth knowing: the nearest A&E to Cuffley is Barnet General Hospital, 5.9 miles away. Asked at the census, 86% of residents of Cuffley said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2021 | Cuffley | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.2% | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 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.
Below is its only school. GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 52% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 51. 63% of pupils at the 7 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuffley SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 449 | A− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Cuffley has the fewest listed buildings of the towns in Hertfordshire. 2% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds 4% of households. 11% rent privately, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). Private rents average £1,512 a month across the Welwyn Hatfield council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £867,500 | 138 |
| Semi-detached | £625,000 | 40 |
| Terraced | £516,975 | 8 |
| Flat or maisonette | £317,000 | 21 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Degrees are held by 38% of adults, close to Hertfordshire’s towns (39%) and above England’s towns (34%). The under-15s are 15% of the population here. The middle age in Cuffley is 48.9.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Cuffley | Hertfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.6% | 4.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 38% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hertfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 47% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
By car: that was how 79% of commuters travelled at the census. Of the commuters living in Cuffley, 4% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 0.6.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Violent crime ran at 12.6 per 1,000 residents a year, below Hertfordshire’s towns (21.3) and England’s towns (22) alike. Over the year to August 2026, 157 offences were reported in Cuffley, along with 31 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up just over a third of the total.
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 Cuffley. Best known first.
ZooHertfordshire Zoo4.7 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumForty Hall Museum4.7 km outside town, to the southeast
GardenMyddelton House Gardens4.6 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumTrent Park House of Secrets4.7 km outside town, to the south
MuseumPotters Bar Museum4.1 km outside town, to the westPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustMorven Park2.6 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuffley | 4,350 | — | A | D | B | A+ |
| Goff's Oak | 3,503 | 1.1 | B+ | D | C | A |
| Cheshunt | 43,694 | 3 | C | D | C | C+ |
| Potters Bar | 23,394 | 3.2 | B+ | C− | C | B+ |
| Brookmans Park | 4,033 | 3.2 | A | D | B | A+ |
| Waltham Cross | 11,936 | 4.1 | D | C− | D | C− |
| Welham Green | 2,962 | 4.5 | C+ | C− | C+ | B |
| Enfield | 329,822 | 5.2 | C+ | C | C− | C+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £750,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £317,000, terraced houses £516,975, semi-detached houses £625,000 and detached houses £867,500.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Hertfordshire, England
Cuffley is a built-up area of 4,350 people, in the Welwyn Hatfield 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.