Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A borough of 278,129 people, one of London’s 32 boroughs.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Where it falls short is safety (C−) — police record 28.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 21 home and vehicle crimes. Only 77% of UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more have more crime per resident. Waltham Forest ranks #21 of 33 in London, with a B− overall. That leaves it better than half of UK towns. Pupils here do better than most: primary results beat 94% of towns in England; secondary results beat 78% of towns in England. Homes sell for a median £530,000, about 7.5 years of what households in the Waltham Forest council area earn. Walkability is a strength too (A+) — on the way to work, 63% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
The 3 things Waltham Forest 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 Waltham Forest is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 113 buildings inside Waltham Forest’s built-up area, 12 of them Grade II*.
45% 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 Waltham Forest. Best known first.
MuseumWilliam Morris Galleryin town
MuseumVestry House Museumin town
MuseumWalthamstow Pumphouse Museumin town
Art galleryGod's Own Junkyardin town
AttractionArcelorMittal Orbit1.4 km outside town, to the south
MuseumYoung V&A3.6 km outside town, to the southwest · 400K visitors a yearPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Waltham Forest.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £71K a year before tax, between London’s towns (£74K) and England’s towns (£55K). Of the commuters living in Waltham Forest, 26% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 0.6.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Attainment 8 at the town’s 18 secondary schools averages 50.6, and 53% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Yardley Primary School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Below are three of its 79 schools, each with why it was picked. 73% of pupils at the town’s 50 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barclay Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 1,273 | A+ |
| Highams Park SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,592 | B+ |
| Yardley Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 551 | 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 recorded 22,335 crimes inside Waltham Forest’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 6,862 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 26.1 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above London’s towns (24.1) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences were a third of the crimes.
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.
28% rent privately, between London’s towns (30%) and England’s towns (21%). Home ownership stands at 49% of households. Private rents average £1,763 a month across the Waltham Forest council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £772,500 | 90 |
| Semi-detached | £678,000 | 707 |
| Terraced | £655,000 | 3,509 |
| Flat or maisonette | £400,000 | 3,427 |
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.
Grade II* covers 12 of them. Of Waltham Forest’s land, 3% lies in conservation areas, lower than both London’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (7%). The town has 113 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 12 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
13% of residents in Waltham Forest live with a disability. 39 GP practices serve the town; 73% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Waltham Forest is Whipps Cross University Hospital, 0.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Waltham Forest | London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 85% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 13% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Degrees are held by 43% of adults, lower than London’s towns (47%) yet higher than England’s towns (34%). Nearly a fifth of residents are children under 15. Typical age in Waltham Forest: 35.8, the median. People aged 15 to 24 are 11% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Waltham Forest | London | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 36% | 34% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 10% | 12% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.5% | 3.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 13% | 17% |
| Degree level | 43% | 47% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · London and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
113 listed buildings in Waltham Forest.
Church of All Saints: Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · ABC Cinema: Photo: Paul Carpenter · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Squires Almshouses: Photo: Emmabellechan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Orford House Social Club: Photo: Emmabellechan · CC BY-SA 4.0
277 notable people were born in Waltham Forest.
Alfred Hitchcock: Ante Brkan, Public domain · David Beckham: Soccer Aid for Unicef, CC BY 3.0 · Harry Kane: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · William Morris: Frederick Hollyer, Public domain · Teddy Sheringham: Christophe95, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Derek Jacobi: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | — | B− | C− | C− | C |
| Buckhurst Hill | 11,749 | 3.4 | B+ | D | C | A− |
| Hackney | 258,464 | 3.5 | C+ | C− | D | C− |
| Redbridge | 309,509 | 3.7 | B | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Haringey | 264,069 | 3.9 | C+ | C− | D | C |
| Newham | 351,065 | 4.3 | B− | C | D | C− |
| Chigwell | 12,251 | 4.3 | B | D | C | B+ |
| Enfield | 329,822 | 4.6 | C+ | C | C− | C+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 78% of towns in England, and primary results beat 94% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £530,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £400,000, terraced houses £655,000, semi-detached houses £678,000 and detached houses £772,500.
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C−.
London borough in London
Waltham Forest is a built-up area of 278,129 people, in the Waltham Forest 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.