St Albans
City · 74,927 people live here · 8 areas
Check Local Score for St Albans as a whole: 78, very good, among the highest-scoring cities. 60 is typical for the country.
Summary · written from the figures for St Albans
St Albans reads as a cathedral city that's quietly well-off rather than showy about it — Georgian and Victorian brick terraces lining streets that feed into a compact centre, with the kind of independent shops and pub fronts that suggest people have lived here a while and plan to stay. It attracts a mix that's slightly older than the national median and clearly comfortable: professionals, established families, some who commute and some who no longer need to.
The practical picture centres on the two rail stations — St Albans City and St Albans Abbey — which put fast London commuting within easy reach, and it's this that shapes who buys here. A 40-year-old with school-age children can catch a train south and still send them to a well-regarded local primary; Fleetville Infant and Nursery School carries an Outstanding rating, and the schools picture generally is one of the strongest parts of this area's profile, well ahead of both the regional and national Ofsted averages. Housing leans firmly towards houses over flats — terraced homes dominate the sales mix, most sold freehold — and at a median of £580,000 you're paying a premium over the England-wide figure, though it sits fractionally below the wider St Albans district median, so within the city you're not paying a London-adjacent surcharge on top of the district's own prices. The market itself has been flat rather than rising over the past year, which for a buyer means less pressure to rush.
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Areas ranked overall
Areas are laid out roughly as they sit in St Albans, north at the top. Scores are out of 100; 60 is typical for the country.
St. Stephen's
89Ranked 1 of 8 by overall. Strongest on schools (89), weakest on affordability (44).
Is St Albans a good place to live?
St Albans scores 78/100 overall, which the scorecard rates as very good — 60 is typical for the country.
It stands out for schools (82) and environment (82).
It scores lowest on affordability (31).
Scores come from official data on safety, schools, transport, prices, health, food & drink and the local environment, for St Albans in East of England, each measured against the national average.
Summary of St Albans
St Albans reads as a cathedral city that's quietly well-off rather than showy about it — Georgian and Victorian brick terraces lining streets that feed into a compact centre, with the kind of independent shops and pub fronts that suggest people have lived here a while and plan to stay. It attracts a mix that's slightly older than the national median and clearly comfortable: professionals, established families, some who commute and some who no longer need to.
The practical picture centres on the two rail stations — St Albans City and St Albans Abbey — which put fast London commuting within easy reach, and it's this that shapes who buys here. A 40-year-old with school-age children can catch a train south and still send them to a well-regarded local primary; Fleetville Infant and Nursery School carries an Outstanding rating, and the schools picture generally is one of the strongest parts of this area's profile, well ahead of both the regional and national Ofsted averages. Housing leans firmly towards houses over flats — terraced homes dominate the sales mix, most sold freehold — and at a median of £580,000 you're paying a premium over the England-wide figure, though it sits fractionally below the wider St Albans district median, so within the city you're not paying a London-adjacent surcharge on top of the district's own prices. The market itself has been flat rather than rising over the past year, which for a buyer means less pressure to rush.