Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 23,394: a large town in Hertfordshire, East of England.
The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Its strongest subject is schools (A+) — primary results beat 88% of towns in England; secondary results beat 99% of towns in England. Potters Bar grades B+ overall and ranks #34 of 50 in Hertfordshire. On that grade it does better than 66% of UK towns. Add walkability to its strengths — on the way to work, 25% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. What holds it back is cost of living — a typical home costs £560,000 and rent runs £1,810 a month. Police record more crime here than in most towns: 30.9 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 16.3 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 55%.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
The 3 things Potters Bar 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 Potters Bar is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 30 buildings inside Potters Bar’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1916.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Potters Bar.
Between them, five primaries and two secondaries teach 3,230 pupils in Potters Bar. Cranborne Primary School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. At the town’s 5 primary schools, 70% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 7 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cranborne Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 448 | A+ |
| Dame Alice Owen's SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,467 | A+ |
| The Wroxham SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 218 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Work in town: 18% of resident commuters. For every resident in work, Potters Bar has 1.5 jobs. 28% of commuters travelled under 5 km, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (41%) and England’s towns (45%). Before tax, the average household brings in £65K a year.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social renters account for 12% of households. 16% rent privately, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%). Behind the median of £560,000: 709 standard sales inside Potters Bar’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £800,000 | 131 |
| Semi-detached | £603,500 | 320 |
| Terraced | £465,000 | 100 |
| Flat or maisonette | £286,000 | 158 |
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.
1,801 crimes and 433 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Potters Bar’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. There were 17.4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Hertfordshire’s towns (14.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Of all the crimes, 41% were violence and sexual offences.
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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, below both Hertfordshire’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (16%). Relative to its size, Potters Bar keeps 13 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Grade II* covers 3 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
4 GP practices serve the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 4.2% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above Hertfordshire’s towns (3.8%) but below England’s towns (5.2%). A disability affects 15% of people in Potters Bar.
| Census 2021 | Potters Bar | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.2% | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 14% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
The share of residents under 15 is 16%. Typical age in Potters Bar: 44.1, the median. 37% of adults hold a degree, between Hertfordshire’s towns (39%) and England’s towns (34%).
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Potters Bar | Hertfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.8% | 4.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 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 Potters Bar. Best known first.
MuseumPotters Bar Museumin town
Historic houseWrotham Park1.2 km outside town, to the south
MuseumBarnet Museum3.7 km outside town, to the south
MuseumDe Havilland Aircraft Museum3.9 km outside town, to the west
MuseumTrent Park House of Secrets3.7 km outside town, to the southeastPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustMorven Park100 m outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
30 listed buildings in Potters Bar.
Northaw Place: Photo: Stephen Richards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Folly Arch: Photo: Julian Osley · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The White Horse Public House: Photo: Philafrenzy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oakmere House: Photo: Philafrenzy · CC BY-SA 4.0
11 notable people were born in Potters Bar.
Storm Thorgerson: Jheald, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Thomas Meehan: Site and Relic Society of Germantown, Pa, Public domain · Letitia Dean: Garry Knight, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tom Pett: EchetusXe, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potters Bar | 23,394 | — | B+ | C− | C | B+ |
| Brookmans Park | 4,033 | 1.6 | A | D | B | A+ |
| Welham Green | 2,962 | 2.8 | C+ | C− | C+ | B |
| Cuffley | 4,350 | 3.2 | A | D | B | A+ |
| Colney Heath | 1,059 | 3.7 | — | C | C+ | B |
| Goff's Oak | 3,503 | 4.3 | B+ | D | C | A |
| Shenley | 3,556 | 4.3 | B− | D | B | C+ |
| Borehamwood | 39,760 | 4.4 | C | C− | C− | C |
Colney Heath has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 99% of towns in England, and primary results beat 88% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £560,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £286,000, terraced houses £465,000, semi-detached houses £603,500 and detached houses £800,000.
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
Large town in Hertfordshire, England
Potters Bar is a built-up area of 23,394 people, in the Hertsmere 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.