Is Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire a nice place to live?

Is Berkhamsted a nice place to live or is Berkhamsted a bit rough? For us there are a number of factors that make any town a nice place to live, like a low crime rate, low levels of deprivation, the good health of the residents, rent affordability and excellent wages. In this article we will see if Berkhamsted meets our criteria.

How likely are you to a victim of crime in Berkhamsted?

The English Indices of Deprivation has a crime element for Berkhamsted. They are a measure of how likely you are to be a victim of personal or material crime in an area, such as muggings or burglary. Naturally rural areas have less crime than urban areas, but for this part of our town assessment we've looked at the 10 wards nearest to the centre of Berkhamsted. To pass this section, 8 out of 10 of these wards need to be above the English national average rank of 16422.5

#WardCrime Rank
1Ashridge30981
2Berkhamsted Castle25950
3Ashley Green, Latimer and Chenies25103
4Berkhamsted West24154
5Berkhamsted East22037
6Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield21232
7Northchurch20013
8Chaulden and Warners End18617
9Gadebridge18517
10Boxmoor12426
crime
PASSED

Reader Opinion:

Chesham! More Like Mayhem!

Is Berkhamsted a healthy place to live?

If you are thinking of moving to Berkhamsted, you want to know if the place is likely to put you on a downward spiral of ill health. For this section of the town assessment, we've examined government health statistics from the 2021 Census General Health question and the Indices of Multiple Deprivation's health element.The table below shows what percentage of Berkhamsted residents answered saying their health was either bad or very bad. To pass this section, the local authority has to have a percentage score less than or equal to 7%.

Local Authority%
St Albans3.02
Central Bedfordshire3.82
Dacorum (Berkhamsted)3.89

The English Indices of Deprivation also has health statistics for Berkhamsted. They measures the risk of premature death and the impairment of quality of life through poor physical or mental health, lovely! We've collated an average LSOA rank for 10 wards nearest to the centre of Berkhamsted. To pass this section, 8 out of 10 of these wards need to be above the English national average rank of 16422.5.

#WardHealth Rank
1Ashley Green, Latimer and Chenies (Best)32723
2Berkhamsted Castle31866
3Ashridge30452
4Berkhamsted East29273
5Northchurch28068
6Berkhamsted West27996
7Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield27531
8Boxmoor25456
9Gadebridge25098
10Chaulden and Warners End (Worst)23957
health
PASSED
Reader Opinion:

Chesham is a sh*thole, it really, really is.

Is Berkhamsted rough?

Using the English Indices of Deprivation statistics, we've collated the average rank for 10 wards in and around Berkhamsted. In layman's terms, this is how rough the ward is based on mutiple measures of deprivation including; employment, income, health, crime, housing and outside space. To pass this section as the town assessment, 8 out of 10 wards must have a ranking higher than the English average of 16422.5

#WardDeprivation Rank
1Berkhamsted Castle32204
2Northchurch29951
3Berkhamsted East29034
4Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield28598
5Berkhamsted West27430
6Ashridge25677
7Ashley Green, Latimer and Chenies23928
8Boxmoor22134
9Gadebridge21546
10Chaulden and Warners End20657
Deprivation
PASSED



How affordable are the rents in Berkhamsted?

Every six months the Office for National statitics publishes a snapshot of rental costs. These market rental statistics are dated September 2023. We have used the median rental figure for this assessment as we believe this is a more realistic figure than the average (mean) that can be skewed by artificially low and high rents. To pass this section, Berkhamsted rents for each size property have to be less than 5% more than the median rent for Hertfordshire.

BedsDacorumHertfordshire
1£850£850
2£1100£1100
3£1350£1350
4£1875£1850
Affordable Rents
FAILED



How much can I earn in Berkhamsted per week?

If you are thinking of moving to Berkhamsted, you'll want to know how much you can earn in a job in the town. Every year the government publishes statistics on gross weekly pay, these figures are for September 2023. To pass this section Berkhamsted's local authority needs to be in first or second place compared to the three nearest local authorities.

#Local AuthorityMedian Pw
1St Albans£873.60
2Central Bedfordshire UA£782.10
3Dacorum (Berkhamsted)£759.10
Wages
FAILED



So, is Berkhamsted a nice place to live?

Berkhamsted has passed our core town assesment with a score of 3/5.  However, the rents in Berkhamsted are more expensive than other parts of Hertfordshire.

Is Berkhamsted a nice place to live?
YES
* Probably.