Stevenage’s grades pull in different directions. Safety lags (C−): 42.1 violent and sexual offences and 13.3 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 64%. This Hertfordshire town grades C overall, better than 26% of UK towns, and ranks #48 of 50 in Hertfordshire. It lags on health as well — men here can expect to live to 79.6, women to 82.5. At a median £340,000, a home costs 5.7 times the yearly income of households in the Stevenage council area. Fewer journeys need a car: on the way to work, 22% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · 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 Stevenage is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Stevenage.
Safety
Per resident, Stevenage sees more crime than 84% 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.
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 9,224 recorded crimes inside Stevenage’s built-up area, and 1,879 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 21.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Hertfordshire’s towns (14.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for 48% of recorded crime.
42.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 64% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: 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 & sexual4,403
Shoplifting933
Public order772
Other theft721
Damage & arson718
Vehicle crime436
Drugs397
Other crime232
Anti-social1,879
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.
42.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
13.3
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
21.8
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.
SchoolsC+
Stevenage’s schools fall behind 63% of towns in England on results
Trotts Hill Primary and Nursery School’s results beat 95% of schools in England like it. 57% of pupils at the town’s 21 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Three of its 37 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Secondary results at the town’s 6 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 46.3, with 44% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 37 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
3.4% of 16 to 64s in Stevenage claim unemployment benefits, more than in Hertfordshire’s towns and across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
There are 1.1 jobs in Stevenage for each resident in work. Work in town: just over half of resident commuters. Household income came to £60K a year before tax, between Hertfordshire’s towns (£70K) and England’s towns (£55K). Also worth knowing: 51% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Health
83% of people in Stevenage rate their health good or very good
5 GP practices serve the town; 68% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 4.5% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, between Hertfordshire’s towns (3.8%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Women here live to 82.5 on average and men to 79.6 (2019–23).
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
HousingCost of living grade C
More households in Stevenage live in social housing than in Hertfordshire’s towns or England’s towns: 25%
15% rent privately, below Hertfordshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. Stevenage is the cheapest of the 50 towns in Hertfordshire: its median sale is £340,000. Private rents average £1,440 a month across the Stevenage council area.
£340Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Stevenage£340K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£552,900
373
Semi-detached
£400,000
558
Terraced
£330,000
1,478
Flat or maisonette
£200,000
513
58%
of households own their home · England 61%
15%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,440
average private rent a month, Stevenage council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
History
Listed buildings in Stevenage: 132, with 2 at Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Stevenage’s listed buildings include the Church of Saint Nicholas, Grade I. Scaled to its population, Stevenage has 14 listed buildings per 10,000 people, lower than both Hertfordshire’s towns (57) and England’s towns (39). At the top of the list, 2 are Grade I and 10 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Fewer people in Stevenage hold a degree than in Hertfordshire’s towns or England’s towns: 30%
Residents of Stevenage have a median age of 38.1. People 65 and over make up 15% of the town, below both Hertfordshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). 19% of residents are children under 15.
38.1median age
StevenageHertfordshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
11%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications17%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level30%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Ashley Young: Кирилл Венедиктов, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jack Wilshere: --Steindy 16:09, 29 August 2019 (UTC), CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alex Pettyfer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hobbs_images/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nathan Tella: Fuguito, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Daniel Ballard: Biser Todorov, CC BY 4.0
Walkern, Little Wymondley, 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.
Questions about Stevenage
Is Stevenage safe?
About the middle for its size: 36% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C−.
Are schools in Stevenage good?
GCSE results beat 50% of towns in England, and primary results trail 71% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Is Stevenage expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £340,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £200,000, terraced houses £330,000, semi-detached houses £400,000 and detached houses £552,900.
About Stevenage
Large town in Hertfordshire, England
Stevenage is a built-up area of 94,462 people, in the Stevenage 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
94,462 (Census 2021)
Council
Stevenage (mostly)
County
Hertfordshire
Region
East of England
Area
8.5 sq mi (21.9 km²)
ONS code
E63004113
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.
