Some subjects shine; others lag. Its weakest is schools: primary results beat 37% of towns in England; secondary results beat 12% of towns in England. At C+ overall, Letchworth is better than 42% of UK towns and ranks #42 of 50 in Hertfordshire. Crime runs high (C): 32.7 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 12.6 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 51%. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: on the way to work, 24% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. A median £381,000 buys a home here, 5.7 times what households in the North Hertfordshire council area earn in a year. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: C+ for health, B− for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Letchworth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Letchworth.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Benefit claims run higher in Letchworth, 3.2% of 16 to 64s, than in Hertfordshire’s towns or across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £64K a year before tax, between Hertfordshire’s towns (£70K) and England’s towns (£55K). Letchworth counts 1 jobs per working resident. 36% of commuters who live in Letchworth also work there. For half of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsC−
On exam results, Letchworth’s schools trail 81% of towns in England
Attainment 8 at the town’s 2 secondary schools averages 40.3, and 31% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Norton St Nicholas CofE (VA) Primary School’s results beat 79% of schools in England like it. Three of its 15 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Some 4,029 pupils attend Letchworth’s 11 primaries and two secondaries.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 15 schools →
Safety
Letchworth records more crime per resident than 73% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 2,149 crimes and 672 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Letchworth’s built-up area. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 19.2 reports per 1,000, above Hertfordshire’s towns (14.2) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. 48% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
32.7violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearCSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 49% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual1,034
Damage & arson234
Other theft184
Shoplifting176
Public order149
Drugs88
Burglary84
Vehicle crime76
Anti-social672
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.
32.7
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
12.6
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
19.2
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
History
Much of Letchworth is a conservation area: 30% of its land, more than in both Hertfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Historic England’s list names 108 listed buildings in Letchworth: 11 Grade II*. The register of parks and gardens lists 2 in the town. 13% of its homes were built before 1919, between Hertfordshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
More people in Letchworth live with a disability than in Hertfordshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 18%
Just over four fifths of people in Letchworth rate their own health good or very good. 3 GP practices serve the town; 56% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 4.8% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, higher than Hertfordshire’s towns (3.8%) yet lower than England’s towns (5.2%).
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
HousingCost of living grade B−
More households in Letchworth live in social housing than in Hertfordshire’s towns or England’s towns: 30%
57% of households are owner-occupiers. Private renters make up 12% of households, below both Hertfordshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). Also worth knowing: half of the 1,099 standard sales inside Letchworth’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £381,000.
£381Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Letchworth£381K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£650,000
245
Semi-detached
£470,000
240
Terraced
£345,000
381
Flat or maisonette
£205,000
233
57%
of households own their home · England 61%
12%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,434
average private rent a month, North Hertfordshire council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Older residents shape Letchworth: 20% are 65 or over, above Hertfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
Young adults of 15 to 24 are a tenth of the population. Typical age in Letchworth: 42.4, the median. Degrees are held by 36% of adults, between Hertfordshire’s towns (39%) and England’s towns (34%).
42.4median age
LetchworthHertfordshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
20%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications16%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar15%
Degree level36%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
James Lovelock: Bruno Comby, CC BY-SA 1.0 · Simon West: Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jevani Brown: CLEMENATOR, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Josephine Wiggs: Thecaseagainst, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Simon Gillham: Policles, CC BY-SA 4.0
Ickleford and Little Wymondley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Letchworth
Is Letchworth safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
Is Letchworth expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £381,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £205,000, terraced houses £345,000, semi-detached houses £470,000 and detached houses £650,000. Household incomes are higher than in 77% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
About Letchworth
Large town in Hertfordshire, England
Letchworth is a built-up area of 33,993 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
Population
33,993 (Census 2021)
Council
North Hertfordshire
County
Hertfordshire
Region
East of England
Area
3.8 sq mi (9.8 km²)
ONS code
E63003977
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.
