Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
40,615 residents make their home in this large town in Hertfordshire, East of England.
The picture is mixed. Overall, Hoddesdon earns a B−, which places it #40 of 50 in Hertfordshire. Nationally, it does better than 48% of UK towns. Its weakest is cost of living: homes sell for a median £425,000, about 7.1 times local household income. Fewer journeys need a car (A−): a fifth of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. It also does well on jobs & income — mean household income £63,012; 2.9% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for schools and B for health.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Hoddesdon is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 2 things Hoddesdon does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 126 buildings inside Hoddesdon’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I.
8% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards.
Explore the history →126 listed buildings in Hoddesdon, 2 of them Grade I.
Parish Church of St Augustine: Photo: The wub · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wormleybury: Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain · Jacobean Wing (east) and Victorian Wing (north) of Rawdon House: Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pumping Station (Thames Water): Photo: Colin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hoddesdon.
70% of households own their home. Social housing holds 13% of households, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,686 a month across the Broxbourne council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £770,000 | 255 |
| Semi-detached | £485,000 | 405 |
| Terraced | £422,000 | 487 |
| Flat or maisonette | £240,000 | 450 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Some 6,253 pupils attend Hoddesdon’s 11 primaries and three secondaries. Of its 18 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. GCSE results at the town’s 3 secondary schools: 48% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 47.4.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheredes Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 456 | A+ |
| The Broxbourne SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,442 | A− |
| St Augustine's Catholic Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 238 | A+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 31% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
38% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. There are 0.9 jobs in Hoddesdon for each resident in work. Working mainly from home: 31% of workers, lower than Hertfordshire’s towns (39%) and near England’s towns (31%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Per 1,000 residents, 29.2 violent crimes are recorded each year. Reported offences in Hoddesdon came to 2,829 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 708. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 17.5 reports per 1,000, above Hertfordshire’s towns (14.2) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences made up 43% 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.
At the census, 14% of people here had a disability, about level with Hertfordshire’s towns (14%) and below England’s towns (17%). 4 GP practices serve the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 3.9% of residents report bad or very bad health.
| Census 2021 | Hoddesdon | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.9% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Hoddesdon’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Augustine, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 8% of the total, below Hertfordshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. It has one registered historic park or garden.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The age that splits Hoddesdon in two is 41.1. 19% of residents are 65 or over, higher than Hertfordshire’s towns (17%) and near England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 count for nearly a fifth of the people here.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Hoddesdon | Hertfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 4.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 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 Hoddesdon. Best known first.
MuseumLowewood Museumin town
CastleHertford Castle Gate House4.4 km outside town, to the northwest
ZooHertfordshire Zoo700 m outside town, to the southwest
CastleRye House Gatehouse100 m outside town, to the northeast
MuseumHertford Museum4.3 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseFanhams Hall4.4 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
28 notable people were born in Hoddesdon.
Elizabeth Maconchy: This work created by the United Kingdom Government is in the public domain. This is because it is one of the following: It is a photograph taken prior to 1 June 1957; or It was published prior to 197…, Public domain · Catherine Bearder: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Miles Reid: Greuel, Gert-Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0 de · Lilian Faithfull: J. J. Banks, Public domain · Rachel Treweek: Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0
Large town in Hertfordshire, England
Hoddesdon is a built-up area of 40,615 people, in the Broxbourne 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoddesdon | 40,615 | — | B− | D | C | B |
| Lower Nazeing | 3,631 | 1.7 | B− | D | B− | B+ |
| Hertford Heath | 2,830 | 2.3 | A+ | C+ | A− | A− |
| Stanstead Abbotts | 3,754 | 2.3 | A− | B− | B− | A− |
| Roydon | 1,587 | 2.4 | — | C− | C | B+ |
| Great Amwell | 1,017 | 3 | — | C− | A− | A |
| Cheshunt | 43,694 | 3.6 | C | D | C | C+ |
| Hertford | 28,807 | 4 | A− | C+ | C | A− |
Roydon and Great Amwell 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 £425,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £240,000, terraced houses £422,000, semi-detached houses £485,000 and detached houses £770,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About the middle for its size: 46% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, 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.