Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A borough of 246,074 people, one of London’s 32 boroughs.
Bexley grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 81% of UK towns, and #5 of 33 in London. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 38% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (C): 26.1 violent and sexual offences and 17.5 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 88%. The median home sold for £425,000 in the last three years, 5.6 times what households in the Bexley council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Bexley 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 Bexley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 108 buildings inside Bexley’s built-up area, 5 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Bexley, Ohio, is named after Bexley.
USUS editionBexley, Ohio, 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 Bexley. Best known first.
Museum · National TrustRed Housein town
Historic houseHall Place and Gardensin town
Historic houseDanson Housein town
Historic house · English HeritageEltham Palace2.2 km outside town, to the west
Abbey or prioryBarking Abbey4.2 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumRoyal Artillery Museum2.8 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bexley.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
59% of commuters drove to work at the census. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 37%, below both London’s towns (43%) and England’s towns (45%). Household income averages £76K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
St John Fisher Catholic Primary School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Three of its 84 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birkbeck Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 664 | A+ |
| Beths Grammar SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,701 | A+ |
| St Stephen's Catholic Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 419 | A+ |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police recorded 15,983 crimes inside Bexley’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 4,235 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime ran at 26.1 per 1,000 residents a year, below London’s towns (36.1) but above England’s towns (22). Violence and sexual offences were 39% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
In the comparison, Bexley comes below both London’s towns (30%) and England’s towns (21%). 69% of households own their home.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £660,000 | 462 |
| Semi-detached | £490,000 | 2,976 |
| Terraced | £415,000 | 2,415 |
| Flat or maisonette | £265,000 | 1,759 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
84% of Bexley’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 85% across London’s towns. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Bexley | London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 13% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Bexley has 108 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 5 Grade I, 9 Grade II*. Bexley’s listed buildings include Danson Park Mansion, Grade I. Homes from before 1919 make up 11% of the total, below both London’s towns (28%) and England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
For Bexley, that is above both London’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Over-65s are 17% of the population. Half the people of Bexley are older than 39.5.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bexley | London | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 34% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 12% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.2% | 3.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 13% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 47% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · London and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
108 listed buildings in Bexley, 5 of them Grade I.
Former Crossness Pumping Station: Photo: Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Danson Park Mansion: Photo: Stacey Harris · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Clock Tower at West Angle of Market Place: Photo: Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 4.0 · One Bell Public House: Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0
207 notable people were born in Bexley.
Kate Bush: Guido Harari, Public domain · John Paul Jones: Craig Carper, CC BY 2.0 · William Auld: PaulP at Esperanto Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Liam Ridgewell: Will Viles / Will bcfc at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wayne Routledge: dalli58, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Harry Arter: Ardfern, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bexley | 246,074 | — | A− | B+ | C | C+ |
| Joyden's Wood | 4,912 | 2.9 | A | C− | B+ | A |
| Greenwich | 288,117 | 3.4 | B− | C+ | D | C− |
| Dartford | 69,131 | 3.9 | B | C+ | D | C |
| Hextable | 4,100 | 4 | B+ | C | C+ | C+ |
| Purfleet-on-Thames | 5,881 | 4.6 | B− | B | D | C− |
| Swanley | 17,209 | 4.7 | B− | C+ | C− | C− |
| Hawley | 1,386 | 4.7 | — | C− | B | B |
Hawley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C.
GCSE results beat 85% of towns in England, and primary results beat 81% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £425,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £265,000, terraced houses £415,000, semi-detached houses £490,000 and detached houses £660,000. Household incomes are higher than in 96% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
London borough in London
Bexley is a built-up area of 246,074 people, in the Bexley 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.