Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are only 9% of the population. A borough of 218,236 people, one of London’s 32 boroughs.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Safety is its weak spot (D): 40.5 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 20 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 48%. Barking and Dagenham’s overall grade, C+, puts it better than 39% of UK towns. Health is weaker too — men here can expect to live to 76.9, women to 81.1. Fewer journeys need a car: 52% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Homes sell for a median £377,500, about 5.8 years of what households in the Barking and Dagenham council area earn. Schools are another plus: primary results beat 66% of towns in England; secondary results beat 69% of towns in England.
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.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Barking and Dagenham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Barking and Dagenham does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 39 buildings inside Barking and Dagenham’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1888.
39 listed buildings in Barking and Dagenham, 3 of them Grade I.
Eastbury Manor House: Photo: Gordon Joly · CC BY 2.5 · Parish Church of St Margaret: Photo: Mike Quinn · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Eastbrook Public House: Photo: Ewan Munro from London, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rippleside Cemetery Chapel and Gates: Photo: Hjamesberglen · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Barking and Dagenham.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households had £65K a year before tax, lower than London’s towns (£74K) yet higher than England’s towns (£55K). Of the commuters living in Barking and Dagenham, 21% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 0.6.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Between them, 44 primaries and 12 secondaries teach 44,830 pupils in Barking and Dagenham. Below are three of its 62 schools, each with why it was picked. At the town’s 43 primary schools, 64% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manor Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 1,135 | B− |
| Robert Clack SchoolLargest secondary schoolAll-through | All-through | 3,231 | B+ |
| St Margarets CofE Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 393 | A+ |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 20.4 reports per 1,000, between London’s towns (25.2) and England’s towns (7.8). Police recorded 19,571 crimes inside Barking and Dagenham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 4,586 reports of anti-social behaviour. Of all the crimes, 43% 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.
At the census, 13% of people here had a disability, near London’s towns (13%) and lower than England’s towns (17%). 36 GP practices serve the town; 71% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Barking and Dagenham is King George Hospital, 2.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Barking and Dagenham | London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 13% | 17% |
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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 4 of them, Grade I 3. No town in London has fewer listed buildings for its size than Barking and Dagenham. Its listed buildings include Eastbury Manor House, Grade I. Also worth knowing: of the town’s land, 1% lies in conservation areas, lower than both London’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Just over two in five households are owner-occupiers. Private renters make up nearly a quarter of households, below London’s towns (30%) but above England’s towns (21%). No town in London costs less to buy into than Barking and Dagenham, at £377,500, the lowest of 33.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £480,000 | 37 |
| Semi-detached | £435,000 | 401 |
| Terraced | £395,000 | 2,196 |
| Flat or maisonette | £245,000 | 941 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Over-65s are nearly a tenth of the population. Barking and Dagenham has a median age of 33.3 years. Aged 15 to 24: 13% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Barking and Dagenham | London | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 25% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 32% | 34% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 8.7% | 12% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.9% | 3.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 13% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 47% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · London and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Barking and Dagenham. Best known first.
Abbey or prioryBarking Abbeyin town
Museum · National TrustEastbury Manor Housein town
MuseumValence Housein town
Museum · National TrustRainham Hall2 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumRoyal Artillery Museum3 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseValentines Mansion3 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
161 notable people were born in Barking and Dagenham.
John Terry: ChristopherJClarke, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jessie J: File:Jessie J performing live at The Peppermint Club 05.jpg: Justin Higuchi derivative work: Begoon, CC BY 2.0 · Sandie Shaw: Ron Kroon, Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief: Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Fotopersbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989 - negatiefstroken zwart/wit, nummer toegang 2.24.01.05, bestanddeelnummer…, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Alf Ramsey: Bert Verhoeff for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Terry Venables: Jack de Nijs for Anefo / Anefo, CC0
London borough in London
Barking and Dagenham is a built-up area of 218,236 people, in the Barking and Dagenham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | 218,236 | — | C+ | C+ | D | C− |
| Redbridge | 309,509 | 3.1 | B | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Havering | 259,401 | 3.8 | B+ | B | C | C+ |
| Newham | 351,065 | 4.2 | B− | C | D | C− |
| Chigwell | 12,251 | 4.9 | B | D | C | B+ |
| Chigwell Row | 2,115 | 5 | — | C− | C | B+ |
| Greenwich | 288,117 | 5.8 | B− | C+ | D | C− |
| Bexley | 246,074 | 5.9 | A− | B+ | C | C+ |
Chigwell Row has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
About the middle for its size: 52% 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 D.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £377,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £245,000, terraced houses £395,000, semi-detached houses £435,000 and detached houses £480,000.
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.