Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,922 people live in this town in Essex, East of England.
Housing is expensive (C−): a typical home costs £489,000 and rent runs £1,844 a month. It lags on safety as well: 26.9 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 12.9 home and vehicle crimes. Only 34% of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have more crime per resident. Health is a strength: life expectancy 81.2 for men, 86 for women. The overall grade lands at C+, #50 of 81 in Essex. Nationally, it does better than 42% of UK towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for jobs & income and B for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Chipping Ongar is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Chipping Ongar does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 82 buildings inside Chipping Ongar’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →82 listed buildings in Chipping Ongar, 1 of them Grade I.
Ongar Castle: Photo: John Winfield · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ongar Station: Photo: Ben Brooksbank · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Two Brewers Public House: Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Cottage: Photo: JThomas · CC BY-SA 2.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Chipping Ongar.
Private tenants account for 14% of households. 9% live in social housing, below both Essex’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of the 174 standard sales inside Chipping Ongar’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £489,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £626,000 | 46 |
| Semi-detached | £500,000 | 63 |
| Terraced | £450,000 | 27 |
| Flat or maisonette | £258,000 | 38 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Below is its only school. 65% of pupils at the 3 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town’s primary school has 208 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chipping Ongar Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 208 | B− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Chipping Ongar’s land, 19% lies in conservation areas, higher than both Essex’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%). Its listed buildings include the Church of St Martin, Grade I. Historic England’s list names 82 listed buildings here: 1 Grade I, 2 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, lower than both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). Seeing a GP means leaving Chipping Ongar: the nearest practice is 0.9 miles away. 4.1% of residents report bad or very bad health. The nearest A&E to Chipping Ongar is The Princess Alexandra Hospital, 8.2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Chipping Ongar | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.1% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 212 recorded crimes inside Chipping Ongar’s built-up area, and 49 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 48% of the total. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Chipping Ongar has more crime per resident than 66% of them.
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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Walking, cycling and public transport carried 16% of commuters at the census. Household income came to £58K a year before tax, between Essex’s towns (£63K) and England’s towns (£55K). For every resident in work, Chipping Ongar has 1.2 jobs. 8% of commuters who live in Chipping Ongar also work there.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
A quarter of adults hold a degree, lower than both Essex’s towns (27%) and England’s towns (34%). People aged 15 to 24 make up nearly a tenth of the town. The age that splits Chipping Ongar in two is 48.3. Children under 15 make up 17% of residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Chipping Ongar | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 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 Chipping Ongar. Best known first.
Heritage railwayEpping Ongar Railway3.6 km outside town, to the west
FortKelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker2.5 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumEpping And Ongar Railway5 km outside town, to the westFortFortOngar Redoubt4.1 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in Essex, England
Chipping Ongar is a built-up area of 3,922 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chipping Ongar | 3,922 | — | C+ | C− | C+ | B+ |
| Shelley | 2,405 | 0.8 | — | C | C | B− |
| Kelvedon Hatch | 2,493 | 2.9 | — | C | B | A− |
| Blackmore | 1,167 | 3.2 | — | C | A− | A |
| Doddinghurst | 4,067 | 3.3 | A− | C | A | A |
| North Weald Bassett | 4,323 | 3.4 | B | C− | C+ | B+ |
| Coopersale | 1,067 | 4.7 | — | C− | B+ | B+ |
| Thornwood Common | 1,030 | 5 | — | D | B− | B |
Shelley, Kelvedon Hatch, Blackmore, Coopersale and Thornwood Common have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 8.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Martin. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £489,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £258,000, terraced houses £450,000, semi-detached houses £500,000 and detached houses £626,000.
Against all UK towns, it grades C+. Burglary was rare, with 5 reports in the year.
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.