Areas · East of England · Essex
Area guide · East of England
Chelmsford
How Chelmsford compares with every council area in England and Wales, on official figures only (190,570 people, mid-2025). Ranked 1st = best for someone living there. There is no overall score: the places are too different for one number to be honest.
Gigabit broadband
87.9%
179th fastest of 318
Ofcom Connected Nations, January 2026
Average house price
£378,080
232nd most affordable of 317
HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, July 2026
Price change over 12 months
-2.3%
283rd fastest rising of 317
HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, July 2026
Fine particles (PM2.5)
7.2 µg/m³
219th cleanest of 318
Defra modelled background PM2.5, 2024 (WHO guideline 5 µg/m³)
Recorded crime
70.4 per 1,000
127th lowest of 283
ONS / Home Office police recorded crime, year ending March 2026
Deprivation rank
230 / 296
67th least deprived of 296
English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); 1 = most deprived
Flood risk and road noise are not here because no official figure exists for a whole council area. Both vary street by street, which is what the free check reads.
Check a street in Chelmsford
These figures are for the whole area. The free check reads one postcode: flood, crime, noise and the station, in seconds.
League tables for Essex
Fastest broadbandMost affordable homesFastest-rising pricesCleanest airLowest recorded crimeLeast deprived (England)
Other areas in East of England
BaberghBasildonBedfordBraintreeBrecklandBrentwoodBroadlandBroxbourneCambridgeCastle PointCentral BedfordshireColchesterDacorumEast CambridgeshireEast HertfordshireEast SuffolkEpping ForestFenlandGreat YarmouthHarlowHertsmereHuntingdonshireIpswichKing's Lynn and West NorfolkLutonMaldonMid SuffolkNorth HertfordshireNorth NorfolkNorwichPeterboroughRochfordSouth CambridgeshireSouth NorfolkSouthend-on-SeaSt AlbansStevenageTendringThree RiversThurrockUttlesfordWatfordWelwyn HatfieldWest Suffolk