Safety lags (D): police record 38.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 20.8 home and vehicle crimes. Only just over half of UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more have more crime per resident. With a B− overall, Greenwich sits #24 of 33 in London. Nationally, it does better than 46% of UK towns. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: on the way to work, 60% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Homes sell for a median £460,000, about 6.3 years of what households in the Greenwich council area earn. Schools are another plus (A−) — primary results beat 89% of towns in England; secondary results beat 66% of towns in England.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Greenwich is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Greenwich.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B
5.9% of 16 to 64s in Greenwich claim unemployment benefits, more than in London’s towns and across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 41% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Driving is how 36% of commuters got to work at the census. About 30% of its commuters stay in Greenwich for work. There are 0.7 jobs in Greenwich for each resident in work. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 35%, lower than both London’s towns (43%) and England’s towns (45%).
60%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving36%
Bus18%
Underground, tram16%
Train15%
On foot8%
Bicycle3%
35%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
41%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£73K
mean household income, before tax
5.9%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
A+
Walkability: more walkable than almost every UK town
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsA−
Results at Greenwich’s schools beat 82% of towns in England
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 63 primary schools: 71% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are three of its 90 schools, each with why it was picked. Some 41,896 pupils attend Greenwich’s 62 primaries and 16 secondaries.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 90 schools →
Safety
Greenwich records more crime per resident than 87% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police figures for Greenwich’s built-up area: 27,202 crimes and 6,384 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. There were 22.5 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below London’s towns (25.2) but above England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for 38% of recorded crime.
38.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 51% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual10,349
Shoplifting2,801
Vehicle crime2,598
Other theft2,491
Public order2,014
Drugs1,568
Burglary1,423
Damage & arson1,275
Anti-social6,384
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.
38.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
20.8
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
22.5
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.
Health
Life expectancy in Greenwich is shorter than in 78% of UK towns
30 GP practices serve the town; three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 14% of residents have a disability, between London’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Greenwich is Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 0.4 miles away.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
History
Much of Greenwich is a conservation area: 100% of its land, more than in London’s towns and across England’s towns
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Greenwich counts 524 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 24 Grade I, 44 Grade II*. It is part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Also worth knowing: homes from before 1919 make up just over a fifth of the total, below London’s towns (28%) but above England’s towns (16%). Its listed buildings include Charlton House, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade C+
Social housing is more common in Greenwich than in London’s towns or across England’s towns, at 31% of households
Home ownership stands at just over two in five households. 25% rent privately, between London’s towns (30%) and England’s towns (21%). Private rents average £1,995 a month across the Greenwich council area.
£460Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Greenwich£460K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£795,000
188
Semi-detached
£575,000
946
Terraced
£500,000
2,475
Flat or maisonette
£408,000
3,941
41%
of households own their home · England 61%
25%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,995
average private rent a month, Greenwich council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Greenwich has fewer older residents than London’s towns or England’s towns: 10% are 65 or over
46% of adults hold a degree, about level with London’s towns (47%) and above England’s towns (34%). Under 15: 19% of residents. Half the people of Greenwich are older than 35.3.
35.3median age
GreenwichLondonEngland
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications17%
Apprenticeship3%
A levels or similar13%
Degree level46%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Ian Wright: James Boyes from UK, CC BY 2.0 · Steve Davis: J a1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Evelyn Beatrice Hall: Alfred Agache, Public domain · Ken Hensley: Helge Øverås, CC BY-SA 4.0
Its Grade I buildings include Charlton House. It also has 10 scheduled monuments. Part of it is in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site.
Is Greenwich safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
Are schools in Greenwich good?
Secondary results are closer to the middle, beating 66%.
Is Greenwich expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £460,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £408,000, terraced houses £500,000, semi-detached houses £575,000 and detached houses £795,000.
About Greenwich
London borough in London
Greenwich is a built-up area of 288,117 people, in the Greenwich 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
288,117 (Census 2021)
Council
Greenwich
City
London
Region
London
Area
15.4 sq mi (39.9 km²)
ONS code
E63004986
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.
