Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 12,251 residents and lies in Essex, East of England. Secondary school results beat 91% of towns in England.
Chigwell’s strongest subject is walkability (A+): on the way to work, 31% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. At B overall, Chigwell ranks #36 of 81 in Essex. It comes out better than 63% of UK towns. Add jobs & income to its strengths: mean household income £68,402; 3.4% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Housing is expensive: a typical home costs £725,000 and rent runs £1,844 a month. Safety is weaker too: 24.1 violent and sexual offences and 17.8 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 44%.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
The 3 things Chigwell does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Chigwell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 40 buildings inside Chigwell’s built-up area, 5 of them Grade II*.
6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1903.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Chigwell.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 41% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car carried 65% of commuters at the census. 41% of workers worked mainly from home, higher than both Essex’s towns (31%) and England’s towns (31%). Also worth knowing: there are 0.7 jobs in Chigwell for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
GCSE results at the 13 secondary schools within 3 km: 62% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 54.5. Of its 4 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason. At the town’s 2 primary schools, nearly three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chigwell Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 200 | B+ |
| West Hatch High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,573 | A− |
12% live in social housing, lower than both Essex’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Chigwell is the second most expensive of the 81 towns in Essex, at £725,000. The private rented sector houses 16% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,250,000 | 105 |
| Semi-detached | £780,000 | 88 |
| Terraced | £503,000 | 56 |
| Flat or maisonette | £366,500 | 60 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 663 crimes and 55 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Chigwell’s built-up area. Of all the crimes, 43% were violence and sexual offences. There were 4.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below both Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
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.
Chigwell has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 0.5 miles away. At the census, 2.8% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below both Essex’s towns (4.8%) and England’s towns (5.2%). 87% of people in Chigwell rate their own health good or very good.
| Census 2021 | Chigwell | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.8% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 11% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 6%. Grade II* covers 5 of them. Relative to its size, Chigwell keeps 33 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, lower than both Essex’s towns (52) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
17% of residents are 65 or over, lower than both Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 count for nearly a fifth of the people here. At 39.3, the median resident of Chigwell sits in the middle of the age range.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Chigwell | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.9% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Chigwell. Best known first.
Historic houseValentines Mansion3.7 km outside town, to the southWater parkWater parkAqua Action1.3 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionWellgate Community Farm3.9 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionQueen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge3.7 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumThe Temple4.6 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumDairy Wing3.7 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
40 listed buildings in Chigwell.
Chigwell Grammar School: Photo: John Davies · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin: Photo: John Davies · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Grange Court: Photo: Marathon · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Former King William IV Public House: Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0
19 notable people were born in Chigwell.
Sally Gunnell: Sally_Gunnell_in_1995.jpg: User:Electric.tapir derivative work: Ukexpat, Public domain · Vicki Michelle: Jack1956, CC0 · Mark Wallinger: daisybush, CC BY 2.0 · Michael Black: Paultandy, CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Watson: original image from photo by Bourne & Shepherd, Calcutta 1894, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chigwell | 12,251 | — | B | D | C | B+ |
| Chigwell Row | 2,115 | 1.6 | — | C− | C | B+ |
| Buckhurst Hill | 11,749 | 2 | B+ | D | C | A− |
| Redbridge | 309,509 | 2.4 | B | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Loughton | 33,338 | 2.4 | B | C− | C | B |
| Abridge | 1,651 | 3.1 | — | C− | B− | B+ |
| Theydon Bois | 3,540 | 4.2 | A− | D | B− | A− |
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | 4.3 | B− | C− | C− | C |
Chigwell Row and Abridge have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £725,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £366,500, terraced houses £503,000, semi-detached houses £780,000 and detached houses £1,250,000.
Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
Band D council tax in Chigwell is £2,238 for 2026–27, less than in 81% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Essex, England
Chigwell is a built-up area of 12,251 people, in the Epping Forest 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.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
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.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.