Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A borough of 388,572 people, one of London’s 32 boroughs.
Barnet grades B+ overall against UK towns: better than 70% of UK towns, and #9 of 33 in London. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 49% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (C): 25.3 violent and sexual offences and 21 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 85%. The median home sold for £575,000 in the last three years, 7.4 times what households in the Barnet council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Barnet 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 Barnet is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 639 buildings inside Barnet’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
20% 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 1913 and a map from c. 1873.
Explore the history →Barnet, Vermont, is named after Barnet.
USUS editionBarnet, Vermont, settled in 1807, takes its name from this borough.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Barnet. Best known first.
MuseumRAF Museumin town
MuseumFrancis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museumin town
MuseumBarnet Museumin town
Art galleryThe Noble Sage Art Galleryin town
MuseumMadame Tussauds4.3 km outside town, to the south
Historic houseKensington Palace4.8 km outside town, to the south · 383K visitors a year (2015)Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Barnet.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 43% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
5.1% of people aged 16 to 64 were on unemployment benefits in 2026. The car took 47% of commuters, above London’s towns (38%) but below England’s towns (70%). For 36% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Work in town: a third of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Courtland School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Of its 130 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. 72% of pupils at the town’s 84 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Orion Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 934 | A |
| Ashmole AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,767 | A |
| Queen Elizabeth's School, BarnetTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 1,321 | A+ |
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 29,301 recorded crimes inside Barnet’s built-up area, and 8,905 reports of anti-social behaviour. Of all the crimes, 32% 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.
Owners make up 53% of households, above London’s towns (45%) but below England’s towns (61%). Social renters account for 13% of households. From September 2023 to August 2026, 9,433 homes sold inside Barnet’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £575,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,270,000 | 858 |
| Semi-detached | £800,750 | 2,514 |
| Terraced | £635,000 | 1,710 |
| Flat or maisonette | £405,000 | 4,351 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes built before 1919 account for a fifth of the housing. Barnet’s listed buildings include the Church of St Jude, Grade I. At the top of the list, 2 are Grade I and 34 Grade II*. Of the town’s land, 15% lies in conservation areas, lower than London’s towns (27%) yet higher than England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
13% of residents have a disability, near London’s towns (13%) and lower than England’s towns (17%). Men in Barnet can expect to live to 81.4, women to 85.4 (2019–23). 48 GP practices serve the town; 73% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Barnet | London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 13% | 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.
One measure of family life: nearly a fifth of residents are under 15. People 65 and over make up 14% of the town, between London’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of Barnet is older than 37.8, half younger.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Barnet | London | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 31% | 34% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 14% | 12% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.1% | 3.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 12% | 13% | 17% |
| Degree level | 49% | 47% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · London and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
639 listed buildings in Barnet, 2 of them Grade I.
Church of St Jude: Photo: Steve Cadman from London, U.K · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Golders Green Crematorium: Photo: ceridwen · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St John the Baptist: Photo: Matt Brown · CC BY 2.0 · Wilbraham Almshouses: Photo: Philafrenzy · CC BY-SA 4.0
393 notable people were born in Barnet.
George Michael: University of Houston Digital Library, Public domain · Emma Bunton: rodwey2004, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Noni Madueke: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Peter Mandelson: World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Claire Bloom: MGM, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnet | 388,572 | — | B+ | C | C | B |
| Brent | 340,611 | 4.4 | C+ | D | C− | C+ |
| Borehamwood | 39,760 | 4.4 | C | C− | C− | C |
| Elstree | 1,737 | 4.7 | — | C− | C | B+ |
| Haringey | 264,069 | 4.7 | C+ | C− | D | C |
| Camden | 209,342 | 5 | B− | C− | D− | C+ |
| Harrow | 260,534 | 5.7 | B+ | C | C+ | B− |
| Islington | 216,309 | 5.8 | C+ | C− | D | C− |
Elstree has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Among the strongest in England: GCSE results beat 96% of towns in England, and primary results beat 92% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £575,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £405,000, terraced houses £635,000, semi-detached houses £800,750 and detached houses £1,270,000.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
London borough in London
Barnet is a built-up area of 388,572 people, in the Barnet 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.