Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
4,191 people live in this town in Hertfordshire, East of England.
A town of contrasts. Knebworth’s overall grade, B+, puts it better than 70% of UK towns. It ranks #29 of 50 in Hertfordshire. Its strongest subject is jobs & income — households earn a mean £71,371 a year, and 1.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Add walkability to its strengths — on the way to work, 21% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Schools lag: primary results beat just over two in five towns in England; secondary results beat 11% of towns in England. Cost of living is weaker too (C): homes sell for a median £445,000, about 6.6 times local household income.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 3 things Knebworth 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 Knebworth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Knebworth’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
15% 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 1913.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Knebworth.
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.1% of residents, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Residents of Knebworth have a median age of 43.3. Over-65s are just over a fifth of the population.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Knebworth | Hertfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.4% | 4.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 45% | 39% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Hertfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 33% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 38.7. Its one school is below. Key Stage 2 results at the 12 primary schools within 3 km: three in five pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knebworth Primary and Nursery SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 390 | B+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 48% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: 48% of workers, higher than both Hertfordshire’s towns (39%) and England’s towns (31%). By car: that was how 77% of commuters travelled at the census. Of the commuters living in Knebworth, 7% work in the town itself. For every resident in work, Knebworth has 0.5 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the census, 3.6% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, near Hertfordshire’s towns (3.8%) and lower than England’s towns (5.2%). One GP practice serves the town; 54% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Knebworth is Lister Hospital, 4.3 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Knebworth | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Owners make up 67% of households, near Hertfordshire’s towns (64%) and higher than England’s towns (61%). 15% of households rent from a council or housing body. Private rents average £1,434 a month across the North Hertfordshire council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £722,500 | 41 |
| Semi-detached | £510,000 | 76 |
| Terraced | £380,000 | 56 |
| Flat or maisonette | £285,000 | 64 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. Per 10,000 residents, Knebworth counts 31 listed buildings. Of the town’s land, 14% lies in conservation areas, above both Hertfordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Knebworth logged 183 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 47 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violent crime ran at 17.2 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (21.3) and England’s towns (22). Violence and sexual offences made up 40% 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 Knebworth. Best known first.
Historic houseKnebworth House1.3 km outside town, to the northwest
ZooCat Survival Trust3.1 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumWelwyn Roman Baths3.5 km outside town, to the south
MuseumStevenage Museum3.2 km outside town, to the northHistoric houseHistoric houseHomewood500 m outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumDatchworth Museum1.9 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
3 notable people were born in Knebworth.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knebworth | 4,191 | — | B+ | C | B | B+ |
| Woolmer Green | 1,409 | 0.8 | — | C | B | A |
| Datchworth | 1,179 | 1.5 | — | C− | A+ | A |
| Oaklands | 3,960 | 1.5 | A | D | A | A+ |
| Codicote | 2,677 | 2.3 | A− | C | B+ | B+ |
| Welwyn | 3,906 | 2.7 | A− | D | B | B+ |
| Stevenage | 94,462 | 2.9 | C | C | C− | C |
| Watton at Stone | 2,614 | 3 | A+ | C+ | A | A+ |
Woolmer Green and Datchworth 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 £445,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £285,000, terraced houses £380,000, semi-detached houses £510,000 and detached houses £722,500.
GCSE results trail 89% of towns in England, and primary results trail 58% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Hertfordshire council.
Town in Hertfordshire, England
Knebworth is a built-up area of 4,191 people, in the North 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
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.