Braintree
Braintree is a town in Essex, England, with a population of around 40,000. It has around 1 restaurant or café, with 4 bus stops and the nearest railway station being Castle Hedingham, 5.5 km away. There were around 3 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly violence and sexual offences. Covers 42 towns with local open-data for the whole authority.
On deprivation, Braintree is around the average in England (IoD2025). It is home to around 155,270 residents at roughly 254 people per km².
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 91st of 294 English council areas — better than 69% of them.
A percentile blend of eight open measures (100 = best in England); bars show this area’s England-wide percentile on each. See the rankings · methodology
Weather
9°COvercast
- Today: 10° / 7° · 20% rain
- Tomorrow: 11° / 7° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:59Sunset 16:22
9h 23m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
24US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom
Air pollution (PM2.5)
- 7.0 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
- 5.3% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution
Lower is better for both figures.
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024
Crime
Road safety
228 reported road collisions (2025)
77 killed or seriously injured · 283 casualties · 14.7 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
29 food businesses within 2 miles
- 25 rated 4–5 ★ (20 top)
- 2 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Castle Hedingham (5.5 km)
- 4 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Braintree (8.2 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£330,089 average▲ 1.6% YoY
Across Braintree · to 2026-08
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,213 average monthly rent▲ 2% YoY
- 1 bed £850
- 2 bed £1,099
- 3 bed £1,354
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08
Affordability
9.2× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 9.2 times median annual pay (10.0× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Property sales
2,224 property sales in the last 12 months
12 months to May 2026
A busier or quieter market is not by itself good or bad. Monthly counts are small and volatile, so only the annual total is shown.
Source: HM Land Registry UK HPI, 12 months to 2026-05
EV charging
5 charging locations within ~8 km
- 1 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 50 kW
- Nearest: Bannatyne Health Club - Braintree (7.2 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Golf courses1
- Playgrounds1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local news
- Braintree Town Hall shortlisted for Essex Wedding Award· 4 Nov 2026
- Cost of living programme delivers more than £559,000 financial impact for residents· 29 Oct 2026
- Braintree District celebrates volunteer and sporting heroes· 22 Oct 2026
- Council appeals for information following fly-tipping incident· 21 Oct 2026
- Council vows to continue raising concerns following Secretary of State call-in decision on Rivenhall Incinerator applications· 20 Oct 2026
Source: Braintree Council
Population
155,270 residents in Braintree · 254/km²
- Under 16: 18%
- 16–64: 61%
- 65+: 20%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Internal migration
- Moves in from elsewhere in the UK10,408
- Moves out to elsewhere in the UK8,406
- Net moves+2,002
Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025
Deprivation
Around the average in England
Ranked 164 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025
Council tax
£2,280 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (29% of 71,120)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
68 schools · 21,326 pupils
52 primary · 8 secondary · 8 other
Ofsted: 30 of 33 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (91%)
63 inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Honywood SchoolGood
- Lift MaltingsRequires improvement
- Notley High School and Braintree Sixth FormRequires improvement
- Tabor AcademyRequires improvement
- Alec Hunter Academy
- Hedingham School and Sixth Form
- Lift New Rickstones
- The Ramsey Academy, Halstead
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Braintree
Care & health services
1,574 CQC-registered services
- Care homes408
- GP practices229
- Dentists312
- Homecare agencies474
- Hospitals & hospices40
CQC ratings: 88% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 17 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Essex
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 45 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
238 applications decided
81.9% granted · 195 granted, 43 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2
Council control
Conservative majority
- Lab 9
- Con 30
- Grn 4
- Ref 1
- Oth 5
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools3
- Parks & greens1
- Restaurants & cafés2
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
7,625 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Jobs
542 jobs advertised · £36,142 avg
e.g. Registered Psychologist, Consultant Psychiatrist - Eating Disorders, Oncology Pharmacy Technician
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£826 median full-time weekly pay
2.8% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£26,019 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
48% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 68,719 certificates
10.1% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Health
Life expectancy: 83.9 yrs women · 80.5 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy (Essex): 62.4 women · 62.7 men
75% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.3
- Feeling worthwhile7.7
- Happiness yesterday7.6
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.1
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Braintree:
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth295 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide
- Launch a public inquiry into illegal migration in the UK232 local signatures · 78,478 nationwide
- Protect legal right to support for children with SEND215 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
- Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills160 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide
- Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases158 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
Notable places nearby
RAF Gosfield · 0.8 kmRoyal Air Force Gosfield or more simply RAF Gosfield is a former Royal Air Force station located approximately 5 miles (8 km) north of Braintree, Essex, England.
Gosfield Hall · 1.1 kmGosfield Hall is a country house in Gosfield, near Braintree in Essex, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
- Gosfield School · 1.2 km
Gosfield School is an English co-educational independent school in Gosfield, in the Braintree district of Essex. It was founded in 1929.
Gosfield Sandpits · 1.5 kmGosfield Sandpits is an 8.3 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Gosfield, north of Braintree in Essex. It is owned by Gosfield Parish Council, and managed by the Parish Council and Braintree District Council.
Gosfield · 1.5 kmGosfield is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. It is located around 2 miles (3 km) west of Halstead, its post town. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 1,453.
Whiteash Green · 1.6 kmWhite Ash Green is a hamlet in the civil parish of Greenstead Green and Halstead Rural, in the Braintree district of Essex, England.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Towns in Braintree
- Black Notley
- Bradwell (Braintree)
- Braintree
- Bures
- Castle Hedingham
- Cavendish
- Clare
- Coggeshall
- Colne Engaine
- Earls Colne
- Finchingfield
- Gosfield
- Great Bardfield
- Great Notley
- Great Yeldham
- Halstead (Braintree)
- Hatfield Peverel
- Haverhill
- Helions Bumpstead
- High Garrett
- Kelvedon and Feering
- Lamarsh
- Long Melford
- Nounsley
- Panfield
- Pebmarsh
- Rayne
- Ridgewell
- School Green
- Shalford (Braintree)
- Sible Hedingham
- Silver End
- Steeple Bumpstead
- Sturmer
- Sudbury
- Toppesfield
- Tye Green (Braintree)
- Wethersfield
- White Colne
- Wickham St Paul
- Witham
- Young's End