Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 3,556 residents and lies in Hertfordshire, East of England.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Its lowest grade is for cost of living — homes sell for a median £569,500, about 8.5 times local household income. Work and incomes are strong: mean household income £70,994; 2.3% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Put together, the subjects come to a B− overall, better than 48% of UK towns. The ranking puts it #39 of 50 in Hertfordshire. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety, C+ for health and B− for walkability.
Figures: income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · commuting, Census 2021.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Shenley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Shenley does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 15 buildings inside Shenley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1946.
Explore the history →15 listed buildings in Shenley.
St Botolphs: Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Martin: Photo: Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The White Horse Public House: Photo: JThomas · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Thatched Cottage: Photo: Alansplodge · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Shenley.
Owners make up just over two thirds of households. Private rents average £1,829 a month across the Hertsmere council area. The median sale, £569,500, comes from 113 standard sales inside Shenley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £790,000 | 38 |
| Semi-detached | £556,500 | 26 |
| Terraced | £485,000 | 43 |
| Flat or maisonette | £315,000 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
GCSE results at the one secondary school within 3 km: 29% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 35.4. Below is its only school. At the 14 primary schools within 3 km, 64% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shenley Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 119 | D |
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 142 recorded crimes inside Shenley’s built-up area, and 54 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence came to 17.8 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (21.3) and England’s towns (22). Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Shenley has less crime per resident than 69% of them.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 32% of Shenley’s land, higher than both Hertfordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (7%). Grade II* covers 1 of them.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
13% of residents have a disability, below Hertfordshire’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. At the census, 3.2% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. Shenley has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.4 miles away. Women here live to 81.2 on average and men to 77.9 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Shenley | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.2% | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 47% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 28%, below Hertfordshire’s towns (41%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. The car carried just over four in five commuters at the census. About 4% of its commuters stay in Shenley for work. Also worth knowing: at the census, 47% of workers worked mainly from home.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Children under 15 make up 19%, near Hertfordshire’s towns (19%) and higher than England’s towns (18%). Shenley has a median age of 42.4 years. Degrees are held by 39% of adults.
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Shenley | Hertfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 13% | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.2% | 4.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 39% | 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 Shenley. Best known first.
Historic houseBhaktivedanta Manor4 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumDe Havilland Aircraft Museum1.3 km outside town, to the northeast
CastleHilfield Castle4.9 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseTyttenhanger House2.7 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumElstree and Borehamwood Museum3.1 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumRadlett & District Museum1.7 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
3 notable people were born in Shenley.
Town in Hertfordshire, England
Shenley is a built-up area of 3,556 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shenley | 3,556 | — | B− | D | B | C+ |
| Radlett | 8,182 | 1.5 | A− | D | B− | A+ |
| London Colney | 7,932 | 2.2 | B+ | B | C− | B |
| Borehamwood | 39,760 | 2.5 | C | C− | C− | C |
| Park Street and Frogmore | 2,256 | 2.9 | — | B | C− | B |
| Chiswell Green | 6,681 | 3.4 | A | C− | B+ | A− |
| Colney Heath | 1,059 | 3.5 | — | C | C+ | B |
| Elstree | 1,737 | 3.5 | — | C− | C | B+ |
Park Street and Frogmore, Colney Heath and Elstree 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 £569,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £315,000, terraced houses £485,000, semi-detached houses £556,500 and detached houses £790,000.
GCSE results trail 97% of towns in England, and primary results beat 66% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Hertfordshire council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
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.