Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A borough of 259,401 people, one of London’s 32 boroughs.
Walkability is its strong suit (A+) — 37% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. At B+ overall, Havering ranks #10 of 33 in London. Set against the rest, it does better than two thirds of UK towns. Its schools beat most: primary results beat 65% of towns in England; secondary results beat 67% of towns in England. Crime is the sore point: 29 violent and sexual offences and 18.1 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 83%. The median home sold for £445,000, 6 times what households in the Havering council area earn in a year. Health is a weak point: men here can expect to live to 79.4, women to 83.3.
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.
The 3 things Havering 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 Havering is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 108 buildings inside Havering’s built-up area, 5 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
5% 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 1819.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Havering. Best known first.
Museum · National TrustRainham Hallin town
MuseumHavering Museumin town
CathedralBrentwood Cathedral2.9 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic houseThorndon Hall3.8 km outside town, to the east
Museum · National TrustEastbury Manor House4.5 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumValence House1.4 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Havering.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Jobs per working resident: 0.7. The car took 59% of commuters, higher than London’s towns (38%) yet lower than England’s towns (70%). 36% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
GCSE results at the town’s 18 secondary schools: 50% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 48.3. Below are three of its 81 schools, each with why it was picked. 64% of pupils at the town’s 48 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parklands Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 881 | B+ |
| The Coopers' Company and Coborn SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,568 | A |
| Nelmes Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 433 | A+ |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Violence and sexual offences were 37% of the crimes. Over the year to August 2026, 18,741 offences were reported in Havering, along with 5,050 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 19.1 reports per 1,000, lower than London’s towns (25.2) yet higher than England’s towns (7.8).
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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Havering’s land, 3% lies in conservation areas, below both London’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (7%). The town’s listed buildings include the Church of St Helen and St Giles, Grade I. One registered park or garden lies here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
37 GP practices serve the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, higher than London’s towns (13%) yet lower than England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Havering is Queen's Hospital, 1.2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Havering | London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 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.
69% of households own their home. Social housing holds 14% of households, below both London’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). 8,643 standard sales inside Havering’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £445,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £677,750 | 814 |
| Semi-detached | £500,000 | 3,356 |
| Terraced | £430,000 | 2,760 |
| Flat or maisonette | £265,000 | 1,713 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Children under 15 make up 19%, near London’s towns (18%) and higher than England’s towns (18%). 18% of residents have reached 65. Ages in Havering split evenly at 39.4: half are older, half younger. Young adults of 15 to 24 are just over a tenth of the population.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Havering | London | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 34% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 12% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.1% | 3.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 13% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 47% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · London and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
108 listed buildings in Havering, 5 of them Grade I.
Church of St Helen and St Giles: Photo: Max Naylor · Public domain · The Bower House: Photo: Derek Voller · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Royal Liberty School: Photo: Stephen Richards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The King's Head Inn: Photo: Fay1982 · CC BY-SA 3.0
232 notable people were born in Havering.
Frank Lampard: Mehdi Bolourian, CC BY 4.0 · Tony Adams: Jade Moulds, Public domain · Jonjo Shelvey: Matlock-Photo, CC BY 2.0 · Cliff Williams: MATT BECKER, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Imogen Heap: Duk3L1xon, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dean-Charles Chapman: Raboe001, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Havering | 259,401 | — | B+ | B | C | C+ |
| Barking and Dagenham | 218,236 | 3.8 | C+ | C+ | D | C− |
| Chigwell Row | 2,115 | 5 | — | C− | C | B+ |
| Aveley | 9,364 | 5.3 | C+ | C− | C− | C− |
| South Ockendon | 22,441 | 5.5 | C+ | C | C− | D |
| Redbridge | 309,509 | 5.7 | B | C+ | C− | C+ |
| West Horndon | 1,648 | 5.9 | — | C+ | B− | A− |
| Brentwood | 55,339 | 6 | A− | C+ | C | B |
Chigwell Row and West Horndon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get 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.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £445,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £265,000, terraced houses £430,000, semi-detached houses £500,000 and detached houses £677,750. Household incomes are higher than in 95% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B.
GCSE results beat 67% of towns in England, and primary results beat 65% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
London borough in London
Havering is a built-up area of 259,401 people, in the Havering 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.