Crap Towns / Greater London / Camden
Camden
97/100Crap Score
35th crappest of 984 towns, and 3rd in Greater London. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
Got something to say about Camden? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Camden. It was better before you came.
The Lock sells the same leather jacket on every stall, and Hampstead pretends it's another borough.
Everyone in Camden says it used to be better, and they've been saying it since the punks were young. The Lock's all tourists queuing for overpriced noodles, and the towpath smells. Euston's been a massive hole for years, waiting for a train that isn't coming. Up the hill, Hampstead carries on like Camden is somewhere it read about.
The council logs nearly 15 times the typical council's fly-tipping, over 36,000 incidents in a year. The most common crime in the borough is somebody lifting your phone or your purse, which tells you everything. The air has 2.9 times the typical town's nitrogen dioxide, 38 places are officially at risk and 9 public pools have shut since 2010. It was better before. For once they're right.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Camden's 99 for fly-tipping means it's crapper than 99% of towns.
- Fly-tipping99/100163 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Camden council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Air pollution99/10023.6 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 9.6 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Anti-social behaviour99/10045.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Food hygiene98/1008.2% rated 0 to 2, of the 3,098 food businesses with a rating
- Serious road collisions96/1005.0 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson65/1008.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires60/100
- Broadband24/1004.8% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 4.8% across the Camden council area
- Rain17/100116 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Sewage spills12/10011.1 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | City of London | 100 |
| 2 | Westminster | 100 |
| 3 | Camden | 97 |
| 4 | Tower Hamlets | 96 |
| 5 | Lambeth | 95 |
| 6 | Haringey | 92 |
| 7 | Hackney | 92 |
| 8 | Brent | 91 |
| 9 | Hillingdon | 91 |
Camden by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 191 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 2.5x the typical town's 76.2
- 593 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 28.2 per 10,000 people, 8.3x the typical town's 3.4
- 4 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2024
- 2 of 3 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 223 pubs, 180 hairdressers, 40 charity shops, 28 bookmakers, 14 vape shops, 28 banks, 9 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 8.8% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (45 of 513) Worse: 2.2x the typical town's 4.0%
- 15 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 7.1 per 100,000 people, 2.1x the typical town's 3.4
- 82 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 3.9 per 10,000 people, 2.4x the typical town's 1.6
- 22 public swimming pools open; 9 closed for good since 2010 Better: 1.0 per 10,000 people, 43% higher than the typical English town's 0.7
- 38 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- All night buses on a Wednesday Better: The typical town's last bus goes at 12.14am
- 1.0% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 2x the typical town's 0.5%
- 4.3% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 72% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,585 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Camden council
Have a crap-off
Camden against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.