Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A borough of 309,509 people, one of London’s 32 boroughs.
Redbridge grades B overall against UK towns: better than 64% of UK towns, and #13 of 33 in London. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 50% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (C−): 31.1 violent and sexual offences and 17.7 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 79%. The median home sold for £500,000 in the last three years, 6.7 times what households in the Redbridge council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Redbridge 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 Redbridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 133 buildings inside Redbridge’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
27% 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 Redbridge. Best known first.
Historic houseValentines Mansionin town
MuseumRedbridge Museumin town
AttractionArcelorMittal Orbit3.5 km outside town, to the southwest
Abbey or prioryBarking Abbey900 m outside town, to the south
GardenVictoria Park4.9 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumWilliam Morris Gallery2.2 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 Redbridge.
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.
24% of commuters who live in Redbridge also work there. For every resident in work, Redbridge has 0.6 jobs. The car took 47% of commuters, higher than London’s towns (38%) yet lower than England’s towns (70%). Before tax, the average household brings in £74K a year.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the town’s 54 primary schools, 74% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Ilford County High School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Secondary results at the town’s 18 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 54.3, with 61% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Below are three of its 79 schools, each with why it was picked.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christchurch Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 1,084 | A |
| Loxford SchoolLargest secondary schoolAll-through | All-through | 2,799 | A− |
| Ilford County High SchoolTop results in townSecondary | Secondary | 1,115 | 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 figures for Redbridge’s built-up area: 23,839 crimes and 5,931 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 19 reports per 1,000, lower than London’s towns (25.2) yet higher than England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for nearly two fifths of recorded crime.
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.
11% live in social housing, lower than both London’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). The private rented sector houses 30% of households. The owner-occupied share of households is 57%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £945,000 | 267 |
| Semi-detached | £646,000 | 1,155 |
| Terraced | £540,000 | 2,571 |
| Flat or maisonette | £320,000 | 1,785 |
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.
Conservation areas cover nearly a tenth of Redbridge’s land, lower than London’s towns (27%) yet higher than England’s towns (7%). Its listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 12 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
41 GP practices serve the town; two thirds of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 4% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, below both London’s towns (4.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Redbridge is King George Hospital, 1.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Redbridge | London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 12% | 13% | 17% |
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.
Degrees are held by 42% of adults, between London’s towns (47%) and England’s towns (34%). The 65-and-over age group makes up 12% of residents. At 36.1, the median resident of Redbridge sits in the middle of the age range.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Redbridge | London | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 31% | 34% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 12% | 12% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.1% | 3.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 13% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 47% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · London and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
133 listed buildings in Redbridge, 1 of them Grade I.
Wanstead Park: Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain · Valentines Mansion: Photo: I M Chengappa · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Newbury Park Station Bus Shelter: Photo: Jim Osley · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Castle Hotel: Photo: Fay1982 · CC BY-SA 3.0
262 notable people were born in Redbridge.
Maggie Smith: N/A studio, Public domain · Ian Holm: CossieMoJo at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Reece James: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Paul Ince: Justin Hartman, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Keith Flint: ParaDoxus, Public domain · Ainsley Maitland-Niles: Paté kroute, CC0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redbridge | 309,509 | — | B | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Chigwell | 12,251 | 2.4 | B | D | C | B+ |
| Barking and Dagenham | 218,236 | 3.1 | C+ | C+ | D | C− |
| Chigwell Row | 2,115 | 3.5 | — | C− | C | B+ |
| Buckhurst Hill | 11,749 | 3.6 | B+ | D | C | A− |
| Newham | 351,065 | 3.6 | B− | C | D | C− |
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | 3.7 | B− | C− | C− | C |
| Loughton | 33,338 | 4.8 | B | C− | C | B |
Chigwell Row has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Among the strongest in England: GCSE results beat 91% of towns in England, and primary results beat 95% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £500,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £320,000, terraced houses £540,000, semi-detached houses £646,000 and detached houses £945,000.
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
Redbridge is a built-up area of 309,509 people, in the Redbridge 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.