Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A borough of 351,065 people, one of London’s 32 boroughs.
Newham grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 46% of UK towns, and #23 of 33 in London. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 70% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 38.9 violent and sexual offences and 23 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 45%. The median home sold for £447,500 in the last three years, 6.9 times what households in the Newham council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Newham 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 Newham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 117 buildings inside Newham’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
37% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Newham. Best known first.
AttractionArcelorMittal Orbitin town
MuseumV&A East Museumin town
Big drawCastleTower of London4.8 km outside town, to the west · 2.7M visitors a year (2016)
Big drawMuseumNational Maritime Museum2.7 km outside town, to the southwest · 2.4M visitors a year
MuseumCutty Sark2.7 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumQueen's House2.6 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Newham.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Newham, that is above both London’s towns (5.2%) and England’s towns (2.3%). 27% of commuters drove to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Elmhurst Primary School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Three of its 102 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandringham Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 995 | A− |
| Brampton Manor AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 2,987 | A |
| Elmhurst Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 980 | 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 23 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both London’s towns (21.1) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 40,848 crimes inside Newham’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 9,822 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 31% 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
Newham sits below both London’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (17%) on this measure. Women here live to 82.2 on average and men to 77.6 (2019–23). 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 | Newham | London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 12% | 13% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
That puts Newham below both London’s towns (45%) and England’s towns (61%). Private renters make up 39% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £537,500 | 16 |
| Semi-detached | £485,000 | 132 |
| Terraced | £465,000 | 2,099 |
| Flat or maisonette | £415,000 | 3,072 |
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.
On this, Newham is above both London’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (16%). Newham’s listed buildings include Church of All Saints, Grade I. Newham has 117 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 4 Grade I, 6 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
In the comparison, Newham comes below both London’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (18%). Under-15s account for 20% of the population. The median resident of Newham is 32.5 years old.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Newham | London | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 38% | 34% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 21% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 7.2% | 12% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.1% | 3.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 13% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 47% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · London and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
117 listed buildings in Newham, 4 of them Grade I.
Church of St Mary Magdalene: Photo: Nigel Cox · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Theatre Royal: Photo: No Swan So Fine · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Former Fire Station: Photo: David Anstiss · CC BY-SA 2.0 · King Edward VII Public House: Photo: Ewan Munro from London, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0
434 notable people were born in Newham.
Chiwetel Ejiofor: Kevin Payravi, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jermain Defoe: Paulblank, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vera Lynn: Eric Koch for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Sol Campbell: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jimmy Greaves: Jack de Nijs for Anefo / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Lennox Lewis: -nikkon-, CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newham | 351,065 | — | B− | C | D | C− |
| Tower Hamlets | 311,072 | 3.2 | C+ | C | D | C− |
| Redbridge | 309,509 | 3.6 | B | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Greenwich | 288,117 | 4.1 | B− | C+ | D | C− |
| Barking and Dagenham | 218,236 | 4.2 | C+ | C+ | D | C− |
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | 4.3 | B− | C− | C− | C |
| Hackney | 258,464 | 4.6 | C+ | C− | D | C− |
| City of London | 7,820 | 5.5 | A− | C− | D− | A+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
A young borough. At the 2021 Census, 20% of residents were under 15 and 38% were 25 to 44, against 18% and 27% across England’s towns; only 7.2% were 65 or over.
Its Grade I buildings include Church of All Saints. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
GCSE results beat 82% of towns in England, and primary results beat 95% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
About the middle for its size: 55% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
London borough in London
Newham is a built-up area of 351,065 people, in the Newham 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.