Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A large town of 30,964 in Hertfordshire, East of England.
Harpenden grades A+ overall against UK towns: better than almost every UK town, and #2 of 50 in Hertfordshire. Its strongest subject is jobs & income (A+): mean household income £91,650; 1.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its weakest is cost of living (C−): median sale £775,000, 9.7 years of area income; rent £1,931 a month.
The 3 things Harpenden 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 Harpenden is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 62 buildings inside Harpenden’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
12% 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 1905.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Harpenden. Best known first.
CathedralSt Albans Cathedral4.6 km outside town, to the south
CastleSomeries Castle4 km outside town, to the north
Museum · National TrustShaw's Corner3.5 km outside town, to the east
Historic houseLuton Hoo2.4 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic house · English HeritageOld Gorhambury House4.4 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseGorhambury House4 km 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 Harpenden.
Women here live to 86.8 on average and men to 83 (2019–23). At the census, 90% of people in Harpenden called their health good or very good, above both Hertfordshire’s towns (85%) and England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Harpenden is Luton and Dunstable Hospital, 7.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Harpenden | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 90% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.3% | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 11% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Manland Primary School’s results beat 98% of schools in England like it. Three of its 18 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood End SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 457 | A+ |
| Roundwood Park SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,421 | A |
| St Dominic Catholic Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 232 | A+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 61% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: 61% of workers, above both Hertfordshire’s towns (39%) and England’s towns (31%). 34% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
For Harpenden, that is above both Hertfordshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). Social housing holds 8% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,325,000 | 417 |
| Semi-detached | £825,000 | 339 |
| Terraced | £615,000 | 209 |
| Flat or maisonette | £340,000 | 293 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence came to 11.3 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Hertfordshire’s towns (21.3) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 1,178 crimes inside Harpenden’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 312 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 29% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Harpenden has 62 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 5 Grade II*. 12% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Harpenden sits above both Hertfordshire’s towns (39%) and England’s towns (34%) on this measure. Children under 15 make up 22% of residents. The median resident of Harpenden is 43.2 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Harpenden | Hertfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 7.2% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 2.7% | 4.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 60% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hertfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
62 listed buildings in Harpenden, 1 of them Grade I.
Mackerye End: Photo: Forscher scs · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Parish Church of St Nicholas: Photo: Colin Riegels / Legis at en · Public domain · Bowers House: Photo: No Swan So Fine · CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Inn on the Green: Photo: Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors · CC BY-SA 2.0
35 notable people were born in Harpenden.
Alan Scarfe: Jeff Hitchcock from Vancouver, BC, Canada, CC BY 2.0 · Anna Patten: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Frank O. Salisbury: Associated Press, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Simon Mason: chelmsfordblue, CC BY 2.0 · Elaine Delmar: Jack de Nijs for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harpenden | 30,964 | — | A+ | C− | A− | A+ |
| Redbourn | 5,188 | 2.5 | A | C | B | A |
| Wheathampstead | 4,523 | 2.6 | A− | C− | B− | A+ |
| Kimpton | 1,546 | 3.2 | — | C− | A | B+ |
| Sandridge | 1,457 | 3.2 | — | C | C | B+ |
| Flamstead | 1,055 | 3.7 | — | D | A | A− |
| Slip End | 1,410 | 4.3 | — | B | B | C+ |
| St Albans | 75,544 | 4.4 | A | C | C | A− |
Kimpton, Sandridge, Flamstead and Slip End have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get 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 £775,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £340,000, terraced houses £615,000, semi-detached houses £825,000 and detached houses £1,325,000.
Among the strongest in England: GCSE results beat 98% of towns in England, and primary results beat 98% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Large town in Hertfordshire, England
Harpenden is a built-up area of 30,964 people, in the St Albans 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.