One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. School results are strong: primary results beat 77% of towns in England; secondary results beat 93% of towns in England. Police record more crime here than in most towns: 44.5 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 15.2 home and vehicle crimes. Only nearly half of UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more have more crime per resident. A median £380,000 buys a home here, 5.6 times what households in the Chelmsford council area earn in a year. Natural hazards weigh more here: 2.5% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The overall grade lands at B+, better than 73% of UK towns. It ranks #28 of 81 in Essex.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Chelmsford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Chelmsford.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+
Chelmsford is more walkable than 94% of UK towns
28%walk, cycle or ride
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly two in five workers worked mainly from home, above Essex’s towns (31%) and England’s towns (31%) alike. For 54% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. About 45% of its commuters stay in Chelmsford for work. Household income averages £67K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsA
Exam results at Chelmsford’s schools top 90% of towns in England
ASchool Grade
GCSE results at the town’s 8 secondary schools: just over three in five pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 57.1. Below are three of its 39 schools, each with why it was picked. Chelmsford County High School for Girls’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. Its 26 primaries and eight secondaries have 19,878 pupils between them.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 39 schools →
Safety
More crimes per resident in Chelmsford than in 88% of UK towns
44.5violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 10,332 recorded crimes inside Chelmsford’s built-up area, and 1,251 reports of anti-social behaviour. 45% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. There were 8.9 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8).
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 49% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual4,669
Shoplifting1,416
Public order782
Other theft721
Damage & arson673
Drugs624
Vehicle crime453
Burglary299
Anti-social1,251
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
44.5
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
15.2
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8.9
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
HousingCost of living grade B
Chelmsford is graded a B for cost of living grade
£380Kmedian sale
4,553 standard sales inside Chelmsford’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £380,000. Private renters make up 18% of households. 66% of households own their home, about level with Essex’s towns (67%) and above England’s towns (61%).
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Chelmsford£380K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£575,000
1,000
Semi-detached
£425,000
1,295
Terraced
£360,000
1,073
Flat or maisonette
£225,000
1,185
66%
of households own their home · England 61%
18%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,439
average private rent a month, Chelmsford council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
Bad health is less common in Chelmsford than in Essex’s towns or across England’s towns: 3.6% of residents
86%good or very good healthB−Health Grade
86% of Chelmsford’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above Essex’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. A disability affects 14% of people locally. 8 GP practices serve the town; just over three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
History
A town of 231 listed buildings, 3 of them Grade I
231listed buildingsB−History Grade
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 6% of the total, lower than both Essex’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (16%). Chelmsford’s listed buildings include the Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, Grade I. The register of parks and gardens lists one here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Chelmsford is a graduates’ town: 36% hold a degree, more than in Essex’s towns and across England’s towns
39.3median age
Those 65 and older account for 17% of residents. Chelmsford has a median age of 39.3. 11% of residents are 15 to 24, about level with Essex’s towns (11%) and below England’s towns (12%).
ChelmsfordEssexEngland
Ages · share of residents
17%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications14%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level36%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
James A. Robinson: John Sears, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oliver Bearman: Liauzh, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Max Dowman: Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gus Kenworthy: Adam Rippon, CC BY 3.0 · Isaac Hayden: joshjdss, CC BY 2.0 · James Maynard: Petra Lein, Copyright is MFO, CC BY-SA 2.0 de
About Chelmsford
City in Essex, England
Chelmsford is a built-up area of 110,612 people, in the Chelmsford council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Little Waltham and Stock have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Chelmsford
Are schools in Chelmsford good?
GCSE results beat 93% of towns in England, and primary results beat 77% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Is Chelmsford safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
Does Chelmsford flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
How many listed buildings are there in Chelmsford?
Its Grade I buildings include Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
