Is Chelmsford a good place to live?

Chelmsford has an overall liveability score of 56 out of 100 (good) on TrackPostcode.UK, based on 75% of categories currently loaded. It scores best on broadband and housing. The score combines cost, affordability, safety, weather and more from open government data.

Recorded crime for Chelmsford is shown in the crime and safety section, from police.uk for England and Wales or Scottish Government statistics for Scotland.

The weather section shows annual sunshine, rainfall and typical temperatures for Chelmsford from Met Office climate data for the location.

Average private rent in the Chelmsford area is about £1,447 a month (Jun-26, ONS), giving Chelmsford a cost-of-living score of 44 out of 100. Use the affordability calculator to estimate what you could comfortably afford here.

The average property price in Chelmsford is about £383,103 (2026-06, HM Land Registry). Prices changed -1.2% over the year. See the affordability section for how that compares to local earnings.

The average property in Chelmsford costs about £383,103, which is 9.8 times earnings against assumed full-time earnings of £39,039 a year (ONS ASHE), giving an affordability score of 36 out of 100. Mainstream lenders usually cap borrowing at around four to four and a half times income, so a ratio above that generally means a larger deposit, a second income or a cheaper property than the local average. With a ten per cent deposit, repaying the rest costs about £2,222 a month at 6% over 25 years, £775 more than the £1,447 average local rent. The affordability calculator on this page estimates it from your own salary and savings.

About 97.9% of premises in Chelmsford can get superfast broadband of 30 Mbit/s or more, and 86.8% can get a gigabit-capable connection, giving a broadband score of 89 out of 100 (Ofcom Connected Nations). These are council-area availability figures - the share of premises able to order each service, not the speed any single line achieves - so check the exact address with the Ofcom broadband checker before committing to it.

74.2% of 16 to 64 year olds in Chelmsford are in work (NOMIS latest, retrieved Sep 2026, ONS Annual Population Survey via NOMIS), giving an employment score of 52 out of 100. UK local authorities typically range from about 62% to 82%. This is a whole-authority figure, so it describes the local labour market rather than any one town within it.

Chelmsford records 46 on Attainment 8 average score (202425), giving an education score of 37 out of 100. Each nation publishes its own attainment measure and they are not interchangeable, so education scores compare within England, Scotland or Wales and not across them. Attainment is published for the whole council or county rather than for a school catchment, so check individual schools with the inspectorate before deciding.

For the 1 km grid square containing Chelmsford, fine particulates (PM2.5) average 7.48 µg/m³ against a World Health Organization guideline of 5 and nitrogen dioxide averages 12.15 µg/m³ against a guideline of 10 (2024, Defra Pollution Climate Mapping, Crown copyright). That gives an environment score of 82 out of 100; an area meeting both guideline levels scores 100. These are modelled background concentrations for the square, not a reading taken at the roadside.

Within about two kilometres of this point there are 14 GP surgeries, 9 pharmacies and 12 dentists. 8 hospitals are within about eight kilometres. That gives a healthcare score of 84 out of 100. Facilities are counted from OpenStreetMap and the score describes how close services are, not waiting times, capacity or clinical quality.

The nearest railway station is Chelmsford Rail Station, about 0.4 km away, and there are 53 bus, tram or metro stops within an 800 metre walk, giving a transport score of 80 out of 100. Stops come from the DfT NaPTAN dataset and are counted for this exact point, so the figure measures access rather than how frequently anything runs.

Chelmsford is in the Chelmsford local authority, East of England, England. It falls within the Moulsham and Central ward and the Chelmsford parliamentary constituency. Cost of living, housing, affordability, employment, broadband and education figures in this report are published at local-authority level, so every postcode and town inside Chelmsford shares them. Weather, crime, amenities, healthcare, transport and air quality are measured for this point instead.

Chelmsford sits in the bottom 11% of the 539 UK areas we have scored. The median area in the index scores 67 out of 100. It is furthest above the benchmark for its nation on healthcare. It is furthest below on affordability, cost of living and housing. Categories are compared against the area's own nation where the samples allow it, because crime and school attainment are measured differently either side of the border.

Of the areas we have scored within about 50 miles of Chelmsford, the highest are Braintree (61 out of 100, about 10 miles away), Harlow (61 out of 100, about 16 miles away) and Basildon (57 out of 100, about 12 miles away). Chelmsford itself scores 56. Distances are straight-line from this point, and each of those names links to its own full report.

Across the twelve category scores, the closest matches elsewhere in Britain are Croydon (Croydon, London, England), Colchester (Colchester, East of England, England) and Basingstoke (Basingstoke and Deane, South East, England). Similarity is the average gap across every category both areas have data for, with immediate neighbours excluded, so these are places that score alike rather than places that look alike or sit nearby.

Weather, crime, local amenities, healthcare access, transport access and air quality are measured for this exact point. Cost of living, affordability, housing, employment and broadband come from official statistics for the Chelmsford council area, so nearby postcodes and towns in the same council share those figures. Education comes from the local authority, or from the county where attainment is only published at county level. The "How detailed is this report" section explains each level.