Watford

17°COvercast

• Today: 22° / 12° · 49% rain
• Tomorrow: 21° / 17° · Patchy rain nearby

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 06:30Sunset 19:25

12h 55m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

38US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Brent - Ikea, United Kingdom

626 reported · July 2026▲ 11% YoY

• Violence & sexual offences172
• Anti-social behaviour148
• Shoplifting90
• Public order48

11 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs

Neighbourhood team: Watford Outer · Hertfordshire

Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)

127 reported road collisions (2024)

18 killed or seriously injured · 160 casualties · 12.4 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

500+ food businesses within 2 miles

• 407 rated 4–5 ★ (344 top)
• 3 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency · split of the nearest 500

• Nearest station: Watford Junction (0.5 km)
• 73 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, TfL, National Rail

£396,385 average▲ 2.8% YoY

Across Watford · to 2026-06

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,823 average monthly rent▲ 3.4% YoY

• 1 bed £1,263
• 2 bed £1,595
• 3 bed £1,819

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07

11.0× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 11.0 times median annual pay (10.7× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

• Cheapest petrol: 153.9p · Esso (0.3 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 177.7p · Asda (1.6 km)

30 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

92 charging locations within ~8 km

• 19 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 175 kW
• Nearest: Church Road, Watford (0.1 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Sports centres4
• Gyms1
• Swimming pools13
• Sports pitches47
• Playgrounds20

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

• Swap, don’t shop: Veolia and Watford Borough Council team up for a clothes swap· 11 Sept 2026
• Statement from the Elected Mayor of Watford following the Local Government Reorganisation update· 8 Sept 2026
• Watford Borough Council Goes Live on the National Parking Platform· 7 Sept 2026
• Get Outdoors, Get Active, Give Back: River Colne Volunteer Day· 3 Sept 2026
• Walking, wheeling and cycling experience along Lower High Street consultation· 3 Sept 2026

Source: Watford Council

102,247 residents in Watford · 4,772/km²

• Under 16: 21%
• 16–64: 67%
• 65+: 13%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

Less deprived than the average in England

Ranked 195 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019

£2,447 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band C (37% of 43,260)

Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27

42 schools · 15,323 pupils

30 primary · 4 secondary · 8 other

Ofsted: 17 of 19 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (89%)

38inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Watford

1,172 CQC-registered services

• Care homes257
• GP practices170
• Dentists295
• Homecare agencies329
• Hospitals & hospices34

CQC ratings: 86% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 7 Inadequate

Source: Care Quality Commission · Hertfordshire

• In a conservation area (Nascot)
• Not in the Green Belt
• 62 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)

116 applications decided

75% granted · 87 granted, 29 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1

Matt Turmaine

Labour

Watford

Source: UK Parliament

Liberal Democrat majority · directly-elected mayor

• Lab 4
• LD 32

Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)

• Schools16
• GPs & clinics12
• Pharmacies7
• Supermarkets4
• Parks & greens18
• Restaurants & cafés93

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

5,775 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)

2,110 jobs advertised · £42,701 avg

e.g. Mobile Vehicle Technician, Roadside Mechanic - Enfield, Mobile Vehicle Technician - South East

Source: Adzuna

£872 median full-time weekly pay

4.5% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits

£26,924 disposable income per head (2024)

Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI

50% of homes rated EPC C or above

Most common band: D · 47,520 certificates

9.1% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty

88% low-carbon electricity

Wind 59% · Nuclear 22% · Gas 12% · Biomass 7%

54 gCO₂/kWh · low intensity

Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO

Life expectancy: 83.6 yrs women · 79.6 yrs men

62% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

• Life satisfaction7.1
• Feeling worthwhile7.5
• Happiness yesterday6.9
• Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.3

Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23

7 GP surgeries · 5 pharmacies in WD17

• Suthergrey House Medical Centre
• The Elms Surgery
• Rennie Grove Peace Hospice

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Watford:

• Do not ban social media for under 16s369 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
• Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership315 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
• Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office241 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
• Ensure fair and transparent faith security funding for all faith communities209 local signatures · 16,437 nationwide
• Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership200 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide

Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06

• 
  Watford railway station (1837–1858) · 0.1 km

  Watford railway station was a railway station in Watford, Hertfordshire in the UK. It was opened by the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) and it was the first railway station to open in Watford. It closed in 1858 w…

• Watford Rural District · 0.3 km

  Watford Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire from 1894 to 1974. It initially surrounded but did not include the town of Watford, which was a separate urban district. It gradually ceded territory to oth…

• Watford Junction Motive Power Depot · 0.3 km

  Watford Junction Motive Power Depot was a traction maintenance depot located in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. The depot was situated on the Watford DC line and was near Watford Junction station.

• 
  Watford Junction railway station · 0.5 km

  Watford Junction is a railway station serving the town of Watford, in Hertfordshire, England. It is on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), 17 miles 34 chains (28 km) down the line from London Euston,. It is also the nort…

• 
  Cassiobury · 0.8 km

  The Cassiobury Estate is a suburban residential area of Watford in Hertfordshire, England. It is bounded to the south by Cassiobury Park, the main public park in the town, to the west by playing fields next to the Riv…

• West Herts College · 0.9 km

  West Herts College (WHC) is a further education college in West Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Established in 1991 through the amalgamation of Watford College, Cassio College and Dacorum College, WHC has campuses in W…

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)