Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 3,960 residents and lies in Hertfordshire, East of England.
Much to like here, and you pay for it. Its standout strength is health — life expectancy 83.9 for men, 87 for women. Oaklands ranks #6 of 50 in Hertfordshire, with an A overall. Set against the rest, it does better than 95% of UK towns. Jobs & income is a strength too — mean household income £80,672; 1% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The catch is cost of living: homes sell for a median £750,000, about 11.5 times local household income.
Figures: life expectancy and income, 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 Oaklands is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Oaklands does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside Oaklands’s built-up area.
3% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Oaklands.
There is no GP practice in Oaklands: the nearest is 1.3 miles off. At the census, 86% of people in Oaklands called their health good or very good, near Hertfordshire’s towns (85%) and higher than England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Oaklands is Lister Hospital, 5.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Oaklands | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 47.9, and 46% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Its one school is below. 69% of pupils at the 13 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oaklands Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 195 | B |
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 6.1 reports per 1,000, below both Hertfordshire’s towns (14.4) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence accounts for 10.9 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 90 recorded crimes inside Oaklands’s built-up area, and 24 reports of anti-social behaviour. Property crime (burglary and damage) runs at 5.9 per 1,000 residents a year.
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
Owners make up 92% of households, above Hertfordshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. 2% of households live in social housing. Private rents average £1,502 a month across the Welwyn Hatfield council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £820,250 | 88 |
| Semi-detached | £655,000 | 25 |
| Terraced | £399,950 | 5 |
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.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 3%. Oaklands has 30 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, below Hertfordshire’s towns (57) and England’s towns (39) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 54% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
15% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below both Hertfordshire’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (27%). Home was the main workplace for 54% of workers at the census. There are 0.4 jobs in Oaklands for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
People aged 15 to 24 make up 9.2% of the town. Children under 15 make up 14%, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). Ages in Oaklands split evenly at 52.2: half are older, half younger. 47% of adults hold a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Oaklands | Hertfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.4% | 4.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 47% | 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 Oaklands. Best known first.
ZooCat Survival Trustin town
Historic houseKnebworth House1.5 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseBrocket Hall3.5 km outside town, to the southwest
Museum · National TrustShaw's Corner2.9 km outside town, to the west
MuseumWelwyn Roman Baths700 m outside town, to the southwest
MuseumStevenage Museum4.7 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in Hertfordshire, England
Oaklands is a built-up area of 3,960 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oaklands | 3,960 | — | A | D | A | A+ |
| Woolmer Green | 1,409 | 1 | — | C | B | A |
| Welwyn | 3,906 | 1.2 | A− | D | B | B+ |
| Knebworth | 4,191 | 1.5 | B+ | C | B | B+ |
| Codicote | 2,677 | 1.7 | A− | C | B+ | B+ |
| Datchworth | 1,179 | 1.8 | — | C− | A+ | A |
| Welwyn Garden City | 51,504 | 3.1 | B− | C | C | C+ |
| Watton at Stone | 2,614 | 3.5 | 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 £750,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £399,950, semi-detached houses £655,000 and detached houses £820,250.
Police recorded 90 crimes inside Oaklands’ built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 58% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Primary schools stand out: Key Stage 2 results beat 85% of towns in England. Secondary results are closer to the middle, beating 59%. One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Hertfordshire council.
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.