Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: on the way to work, 26% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. With a B+ overall, Ware sits #28 of 50 in Hertfordshire. It comes out better than 71% of UK towns. Households here earn well: households earn a mean £64,128 a year, and 2.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. At a median £405,000, a home costs 5.8 times the yearly income of households in the East Hertfordshire council area. Natural hazards weigh more here (D): 4.4% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for safety, B for schools and B for health.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Ware is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ware.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A−
Ware is more walkable than 91% of UK 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.
Jobs per working resident: 1. Work in town: a quarter of resident commuters. Working mainly from home: 37% of workers, near Hertfordshire’s towns (39%) and higher than England’s towns (31%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsB
On exam results, Ware’s schools beat 61% of towns in England
Of its 10 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Attainment 8 at the town’s 2 secondary schools averages 53.2, and 57% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. 58% of pupils at the town’s 5 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 10 schools →
History
Listed buildings in Ware: 193, with 4 at Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Ware’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Per 10,000 residents, Ware counts 98 listed buildings, higher than both Hertfordshire’s towns (53) and England’s towns (39). Grade II* covers 15 of them, Grade I 4.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Health
In Ware, 86% say their health is good or very good
The nearest A&E to Ware is The Princess Alexandra Hospital, 5.9 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town; just over four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.7% of the town.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
HousingCost of living grade C+
Homes in Ware sell for £405K at the median, against £530K in Hertfordshire’s towns and £308K in England’s towns
Owners make up just over two thirds of households, above Hertfordshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. 14% of households live in social housing. Private rents average £1,533 a month across the East Hertfordshire council area.
£405Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Ware£405K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£708,000
79
Semi-detached
£516,100
249
Terraced
£422,500
234
Flat or maisonette
£250,000
332
68%
of households own their home · England 61%
17%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,533
average private rent a month, East Hertfordshire council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Crime per resident in Ware is higher than in 58% of UK towns
Police recorded 1,059 crimes inside Ware’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 295 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 16.6 reports per 1,000, above both Hertfordshire’s towns (14.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Also worth knowing: for its size, Ware records less crime per resident than 71% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Of all the crimes, 50% were violence and sexual offences.
25.2violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC+Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 71% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: less crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual534
Other theft78
Damage & arson74
Public order71
Drugs71
Shoplifting67
Vehicle crime64
Burglary44
Anti-social295
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.
25.2
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.4
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.6
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.
Who lives here
Ware has fewer young adults than Hertfordshire’s towns or England’s towns: 9% are 15 to 24
36% of adults hold a degree, below Hertfordshire’s towns (39%) but above England’s towns (34%). The age that splits Ware in two is 41.7. People 65 and over make up 18% of the town.
41.7median age
WareHertfordshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
18%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications15%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar17%
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.
Derek Saunders: Wim van Rossem for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Charlie Brooks: Club Soda Guide, CC BY 2.0 · Richard Chartres: Paulobrad, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wilfrid Philip Ward: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress), Public domain · Ernest Hanbury Hankin: Priya Lall & Co., Agra (studio), Public domain
Great Amwell and Roydon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Ware
How many listed buildings are there in Ware?
That is 4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include The Priory (Ware Town Council Offices and Community Centre). It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Does Ware flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Is Ware expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £405,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £250,000, terraced houses £422,500, semi-detached houses £516,100 and detached houses £708,000.
Is Ware safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C+.
About Ware
Town in Hertfordshire, England
Ware is a built-up area of 19,631 people, in the East 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
19,631 (Census 2021)
Council
East Hertfordshire
County
Hertfordshire
Region
East of England
Area
1.6 sq mi (4.1 km²)
ONS code
E63004324
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.
