Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A borough of 325,469 people, one of London’s 32 boroughs.
Bromley grades A overall against UK towns: better than 89% of UK towns, and #4 of 33 in London. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 41% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (C−): 2% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £515,000 in the last three years, 5.9 times what households in the Bromley council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Bromley 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 Bromley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 339 buildings inside Bromley’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
17% 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 1909.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bromley. Best known first.
MuseumCrystal Palace High Level Station Entryin town
MuseumChislehurst Cavesin town
MuseumCrofton Roman villain town
Art galleryBethlem Galleryin town
MuseumCrystal Palace Museumin townMuseumMuseumBiggin Hill Memorial Museumin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bromley.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 47% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Bromley has 0.7 jobs. 55% of commuters drove, higher than London’s towns (38%) yet lower than England’s towns (70%). Among 16 to 64s, 3.5% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Bromley’s 73 primaries and 19 secondaries have 51,067 pupils between them. Three of its 97 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the town’s 19 secondary schools: 56% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 52.5.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warren Road Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 838 | A |
| Langley Park School for BoysLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,823 | A− |
| St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar SchoolTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 1,084 | A+ |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Homes saw 20.8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, close to London’s towns (21.2) and above England’s towns (9.4). The 12 months to August 2026 brought 23,246 recorded crimes inside Bromley’s built-up area, and 5,713 reports of anti-social behaviour. Of all the crimes, 33% were violence and sexual offences. Violence accounts for 25.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
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.
41 GP practices serve the town; 75% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 86% of Bromley’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, about level with London’s towns (85%) and above England’s towns (82%). Men in Bromley can expect to live to 81.3, women to 85.1 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Bromley | London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 14% | 13% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
13% of households rent from a council or housing body. Private renters make up 17% of households, below both London’s towns (30%) and England’s towns (21%). Behind the median of £515,000: 11,815 standard sales inside Bromley’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £865,000 | 1,898 |
| Semi-detached | £615,000 | 3,336 |
| Terraced | £510,000 | 2,843 |
| Flat or maisonette | £330,000 | 3,738 |
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.
Bromley’s listed buildings include Bromley College, Grade I. Of the town’s land, 11% lies in conservation areas, between London’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (7%). Grade II* covers 21 of them, Grade I 4.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
18% of residents are 65 or over, higher than London’s towns (12%) and near England’s towns (18%). The middle age in Bromley is 41.2. Degrees are held by 43% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bromley | London | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 34% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 12% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 3.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 13% | 17% |
| Degree level | 43% | 47% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · London and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
339 listed buildings in Bromley, 4 of them Grade I.
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre: Photo: Svetlopisac · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bromley College: Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wickham Court: Photo: Unknown photographer · CC0 · The Royal Watermen's and Lightermen's Asylum (46 almshouses): Photo: P Ingerson · Public domain
499 notable people were born in Bromley.
H. G. Wells: George Charles Beresford, Public domain · Nigel Farage: Laurie Noble, CC BY 3.0 · Fatboy Slim: "daniel m", CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jerome Flynn: dalekhelen, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Peter Frampton: ceedub13, CC BY 2.0 · Duncan Jones: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bromley | 325,469 | — | A | B+ | C | B+ |
| Lewisham | 300,764 | 4.7 | C+ | C+ | D | C |
| Croydon | 389,242 | 5.3 | B− | B | D | C |
| Greenwich | 288,117 | 5.8 | B− | C+ | D | C− |
| Crockenhill | 1,569 | 5.8 | — | C | B− | B+ |
| Swanley | 17,209 | 6.1 | B− | C+ | C− | C− |
| Joyden's Wood | 4,912 | 6.4 | A | C− | B+ | A |
| Bexley | 246,074 | 6.6 | A− | B+ | C | C+ |
Crockenhill has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 84% of towns in England, and primary results beat 90% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £515,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £330,000, terraced houses £510,000, semi-detached houses £615,000 and detached houses £865,000. Household incomes are higher than in almost all of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B+.
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
Bromley is a built-up area of 325,469 people, in the Bromley 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.