Walkability is its strong suit: on the way to work, 28% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Police record more crime here than in most towns (D): 51.1 violent and sexual offences and 17.1 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set beside UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, its crime per resident is higher than in 70%. Residents’ health trails most towns: men here can expect to live to 78.3, women to 82.6. It takes 4.9 years of household income in the Colchester council area to buy the median home, at £305,000. The overall grade comes out at B, #37 of 81 in Essex. That leaves it better than 61% of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Colchester is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Colchester.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Work is close at hand in Colchester: 57% of commuters travel under 5 km, more than in Essex’s towns and across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households had £61K a year before tax, close to Essex’s towns (£63K) and above England’s towns (£55K). 3.6% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026. Work in town: three fifths of resident commuters. Colchester counts 1.1 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsB+
Colchester’s schools outperform 70% of towns in England on results
61% of pupils at the town’s 31 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 49 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Colchester’s 35 primaries and ten secondaries have 23,004 pupils between them.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 49 schools →
Safety
Per resident, Colchester sees more crime than nine in ten UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Reported offences in Colchester came to 13,888 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 1,763. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 11.4 reports per 1,000, above both Essex’s towns (4.6) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences accounted for 48% of recorded crime.
51.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 30% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual6,626
Shoplifting1,541
Public order1,111
Other theft995
Damage & arson994
Vehicle crime852
Drugs429
Burglary416
Anti-social1,763
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.
51.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
17.1
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.4
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 A−
Colchester is a renters’ town: 26% of households rent privately, more than in Essex’s towns and across England’s towns
58% of households own their home, about level with England’s towns (61%) and below Essex’s towns (67%). Half of the 4,947 standard sales inside Colchester’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £305,000. Private rents average £1,196 a month across the Colchester council area.
£305Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Colchester£305K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£435,000
1,296
Semi-detached
£325,000
1,429
Terraced
£270,000
1,212
Flat or maisonette
£172,500
1,010
58%
of households own their home · England 61%
26%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,196
average private rent a month, Colchester council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
84% of people in Colchester rate their health good or very good
11 GP practices serve the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Colchester is Colchester General Hospital, 1.4 miles away.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
History
Colchester has 443 listed buildings, 13 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Colchester’s listed buildings include Bourne Mill, Grade I. The national list protects 23 ancient monuments here. The register of parks and gardens lists 2 locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
A young town: 15% of people in Colchester are 15 to 24, more than in Essex’s towns and across England’s towns
Over-65s are 15% of the population. 19% are under 15, near Essex’s towns (18%) and higher than England’s towns (18%). Typical age in Colchester: 35.9, the median. Also worth knowing: among adults, 33% have a degree.
35.9median age
ColchesterEssexEngland
Ages · share of residents
15%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications15%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar20%
Degree level33%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Roger Penrose: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0 · William Gilbert: Granger, Public domain · Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Peter Lely, Public domain · Ali Carter: Nils-Rune Skogsrud, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Piers Courage: Raimund Kommer, CC BY-SA 3.0
Great Horkesley, Rowhedge, Layer-de-la-Haye and Eight Ash Green have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Colchester
How many listed buildings are there in Colchester?
That is 1.4 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Bourne Mill.
How much is council tax in Colchester?
Band D council tax in Colchester is £2,252 for 2026–27, less than in 80% 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.
About Colchester
City in Essex, England
Colchester is a built-up area of 130,259 people, in the Colchester 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
Population
130,259 (Census 2021)
Council
Colchester (mostly)
County
Essex
Region
East of England
Area
13.3 sq mi (34.3 km²)
ONS code
E63004104
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.
