Living in Chelmsford

In Chelmsford, tenants pay an average rent of €1,681 a month (2026).

Chelmsford numbered 110,625 residents at the end of 2021. The regional median gross salary was €3,296 per month at the end of 2024. Chelmsford had an unemployment rate of 5.39% at the end of 2018.

Last checked 2026-09-2429 sources

Population110,625people31 Dec 2021Official source · Office for National Statistics

Median gross salary (region)3,296EUR/month31 Dec 2024Official source · Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Average rent1,681EUR/month31 Aug 2026Official source · ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Table 1: average monthly rent price by local authority

Unemployment rate5.39%country median 3.4% — 59% aboveOfficial source · Eurostat

Recorded crime7,041incidents per 100,00031 Dec 2025District figureOfficial source · Police force area tables, year ending March 2026 (Table C4 or P3)

PM2.5, annual mean12µg/m³31 Dec 2019Nearest stationOfficial source · European Environment Agency

Higher unemployment than 91% of United Kingdom cities that publish it, less recorded crime than 84% of United Kingdom cities that publish it and dirtier air than any other United Kingdom city that publishes it.

Which United Kingdom-wide rules apply when you move to Chelmsford?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in United KingdomNational rates and thresholds that apply in Chelmsford.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

No city-level rent figure is published for Chelmsford. The available city-level cost figures remain below.

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€24

Mobile plan, 10 GB€13

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	24.02 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	BT Full Fibre 150¹Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	12.87 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	Three 100GB one-month data pack¹⁹Official · national market
Rent price index, mean	1,681 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), UK: monthly price statistics, 16 September 2026 edition¹⁸Official
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)	1,681 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Table 1: average monthly rent price by local authority¹⁴Official

Is Chelmsford a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile

Remote worker26%strong on work, weak on safety · range 16–36%

Skilled employee39%strong on work, weak on safety · range 31–47%

Student40%strong on education, weak on work · range 31–49%

Family59%strong on family, weak on cost · range 50–68%

Retirement28%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 16–40%

Work and income

Chelmsford's employment rate reached 63% at the end of 2021. Chelmsford had 56,240 at the end of 2021.

What is the unemployment rate in Chelmsford?

The unemployment rate is about 5.4 % (2018).

Unemployment rate: 5.39 % · Eurostat⁵

Unemployment across cities in United KingdomUnemployment in Chelmsford is 5.4%. Of 999 cities with data, 652 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

652

263

0–22–44–66–88–1010–1216–18

Chelmsford 5.4%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Employment rate	63 %	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁹Official
Median gross salary (regional)	3,296 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	Office for National Statistics (ONS)¹¹Official · regional context
Unemployment rate	5.39 %country median 3.4%	31 Dec 2018	Eurostat⁵Official

Unemployment rate over time7 published observations, 2004–2018

3.2%

4.6%

6.0%

7.5%

5.4%2004201120162018

Unemployment rate rose 36.5% between 2004 and 2018, from 4.0% to 5.4%.

What does a salary buy in Chelmsford?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

Left over each month€1,001of €2,719 take-home

Rent
Internet
Mobile
Left over

Line-by-line breakdown and sources

Each month	€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions; euro amounts at the ECB average for 2026-08.	€2,719
Rentaverage rent of a whole dwelling · official · ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Table 1: average monthly rent price by local authority · 2026-08-31	− €1,681
Internet€24 · official · BT Full Fibre 150 · 2026-09-30	− €24
Mobile plan€13 · official · Three 100GB one-month data pack · 2026-09-30	− €13
Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities	—
Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish	€1,001

Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Chelmsford Salary needed to live in Chelmsford

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Chelmsford. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Jobcentre Plus — Public employment service

Department for Work and Pensions

Job SearchUnemployment Claim

Open official service

Open the United Kingdom service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Chelmsford. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Primary schools	56 count	3 Aug 2026	Department for Education (GIAS)²Official
Schools	83 count	3 Aug 2026	Department for Education (GIAS)²Official

School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 5 to 16, and public school is free.

A country-wide rule for United Kingdom; Chelmsford's school authority applies it locally.

Sources: legislation.gov.uk · 1996–2026.

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
GP practices	41 count	30 Sept 2026	ODS GP Practices report (epraccur)⁷Official
Pharmacies	25 count	30 Sept 2026	ODS Pharmacy/Dispensaries report (edispensary)⁸Official

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Chelmsford under the national coverage rules.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Safety

How safe is Chelmsford?

Police recorded about 7,041 incidents per 100,000 (2025-26). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Police force area tables, year ending March 2026 (Table C4 or P3)¹⁷

Recorded crime across major citiesChelmsford highlighted among comparable cities

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Manchester14,267

Bristol13,099

Liverpool12,409

Leeds11,462

Birmingham11,416

Leicester11,001

Sheffield9,693

Cardiff9,379

Belfast9,156

Coventry8,836

Glasgow757

Edinburgh549

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	7,041 incidents per 100,000	31 Dec 2025	Police force area tables, year ending March 2026 (Table C4 or P3)¹⁷Official · county

Mobility and administration

Chelmsford's nearest airport was STN, 23 km away and offered 153 direct destinations.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Direct destinations from the nearest major airport	153 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights¹⁵Official
Distance to the nearest major airport	23 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹⁶Official
Nearest major airport (IATA code)	STN	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹⁶Official

Climate and air quality

Annual PM2.5 was 12 µg/m³ at the end of 2019.

Is the air quality good in Chelmsford?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 12 µg/m³ (2019) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: European Environment Agency⁴

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³

PM2.512WHO 5 · EU 25

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in United KingdomOf 941 cities with data, 487 have annual PM2.5 of 6 to under 7 µg/m³.

211

487

200

3–44–55–66–77–88–99–1013–14

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	12 µg/m³	31 Dec 2019	European Environment Agency⁴Official · nearest-station reading
Monthly extreme high temperature	Jan 13.28 · Feb 15.35 · Mar 17.92 · Apr 22.94 · May 24.4 · Jun 26.78 · Jul 30.73 · Aug 30.1 · Sep 26.82 · Oct 24.81 · Nov 17.58 · Dec 13.53 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁶Official · coordinate grid
Monthly extreme low temperature	Jan -5.15 · Feb -4.8 · Mar -3.42 · Apr -0.85 · May 1.95 · Jun 5.48 · Jul 9.32 · Aug 7.85 · Sep 5.27 · Oct 0.97 · Nov -2.58 · Dec -3.88 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁶Official · coordinate grid
Average temperature by month	Jan 4.78 · Feb 4.76 · Mar 6.37 · Apr 9.16 · May 12.36 · Jun 15.47 · Jul 17.67 · Aug 17.57 · Sep 15.18 · Oct 12.03 · Nov 8.15 · Dec 5.51 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁶Official · coordinate grid

Population and city profile

Chelmsford's median age was 39 years at the end of 2021.

How many people live in Chelmsford?

The published population was 110,625 people in 2021. Source: Office for National Statistics¹⁰

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Population	110,625 people	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics¹⁰Official

International community in Chelmsford

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Country of birth

Usual residents living in the individual ONS Built-up Area on Census Day 21 March 2021 · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Europe: United Kingdom	93,790	84.8%
Non-EU countries (including British Overseas)	10,705	9.7%
Europe: EU countries	6,130	5.5%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹³

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Residents with a bachelor's degree or higher	36.3 %	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁹Official
Workers aged 16 and over	56,240 workers	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁹Official
Median age	39 years	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁹Official
Universities	1 count	3 Aug 2026	Office for Students¹²Official

Alternatives for people set on Chelmsford

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Southend-on-Sea as a Chelmsford alternative in the same region

27 km away, better on 3 of 4 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Recorded crime, per 100k cannot be compared like for like.

Unemployment: 2.1% Southend-on-Sea vs 5.4% Chelmsford−60%
Residents: 182,305 Southend-on-Sea vs 110,625 Chelmsford+65%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 9,646 (2024) Southend-on-Sea vs 7,041 (2025) Chelmsfordno percentage
Median gross pay, region: €3,573 Southend-on-Sea vs €3,296 Chelmsford+8%
Annual PM2.5: 11.0 µg/m³ Southend-on-Sea vs 12.0 µg/m³ Chelmsford−8%

Full comparison More about Southend-on-Sea

Stockport as a Chelmsford alternative in the same country

A move, not a commute, at 257 km, better on 1 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1.

Unemployment: 2.6% Stockport vs 5.4% Chelmsford−52%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 7,476 Stockport vs 7,041 Chelmsford+6%
Residents: 117,935 Stockport vs 110,625 Chelmsford+7%
Median gross pay, region: €3,270 Stockport vs €3,296 Chelmsfordsame level
Annual PM2.5: 12.0 µg/m³ Stockport vs 12.0 µg/m³ Chelmsfordsame level

Full comparison More about Stockport

Cities near Chelmsford

Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Alternative cities in United Kingdom

Other cities in United Kingdom to compare with Chelmsford, nearest in population first.

All United Kingdom cities

Oldham110,720 residents Rochdale111,255 residents Birkenhead109,835 residents Worthing111,620 residents Maidstone109,490 residents Gillingham108,480 residents

How does Chelmsford compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Chelmsford's.

Open the full comparison

Is Chelmsford part of London?

Chelmsford is near London, but the collected evidence does not establish that it is administratively part of the hub or an official satellite. It is about 48.4 km away by straight-line distance. London city profile

Relationship type: Nearby Independent Place. Source³

Put Chelmsford's key facts on your site — a card with this page's figures and a link back, free under CC BY 4.0.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Chelmsford?

The published population was 110,625 people in 2021. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Is the air quality good in Chelmsford?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 12 µg/m³ (2019) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: European Environment Agency.

How safe is Chelmsford?

What is the unemployment rate in Chelmsford?

The unemployment rate is about 5.4 % (2018). Source: Eurostat.

What is the typical salary around Chelmsford?

The median gross salary is 3,296 EUR/month. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Is Chelmsford a good place to live?

Chelmsford may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Is Chelmsford part of London?

Chelmsford is near London, but the collected evidence does not establish that it is administratively part of the hub or an official satellite. It is about 48.4 km away by straight-line distance.

Which cities are near Chelmsford?

Witham, Maldon, Shenfield, Braintree, Brentwood are near Chelmsford. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

How many people born in Europe: United Kingdom live in Chelmsford?

The official country of birth distribution records 93,790 people (84.8%) in the source-defined population for 2021 Census. This is a country of birth measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation

ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Chelmsford, United Kingdom: population, rent, salary, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 483705ac0169551c382c3f3f43a1c849]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/uk/chelmsford/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_chelmsford-united-kingdom-population-rent-salary-jobs_bf4a6d82a9fa,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Chelmsford, United Kingdom: population, rent, salary, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {483705ac0169551c382c3f3f43a1c849},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/uk/chelmsford/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Chelmsford, United Kingdom: population, rent, salary, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/uk/chelmsford/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 483705ac0169551c382c3f3f43a1c849; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown

BT Full Fibre 150 bt.com · checked 2026-09-15
Department for Education (GIAS) get-information-schools.service.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-03
download.geonames.org recorded crime data download.geonames.org · checked 2026-08-28
European Environment Agency air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-05
ODS GP Practices report (epraccur) odsdatasearchandexport.nhs.uk · checked 2026-09-15
ODS Pharmacy/Dispensaries report (edispensary) odsdatasearchandexport.nhs.uk · checked 2026-09-15
Office for National Statistics ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-07
Office for National Statistics ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-04

Show 19 more sources

Office for National Statistics (ONS) ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-06
Office for Students officeforstudents.org.uk · checked 2026-08-03
ONS Census 2021 BUA row and ONS/OS BUA 2022 geometry for Abbots Langley and Kings Langley ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-07-06
ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Table 1: average monthly rent price by local authority ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-23
OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
Police force area tables, year ending March 2026 (Table C4 or P3) ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-24
Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), UK: monthly price statistics, 16 September 2026 edition ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-18
Three 100GB one-month data pack three.co.uk · checked 2026-09-15
Travel to Work Areas (December 2011) full extent boundaries in the United Kingdom services1.arcgis.com · checked 2026-09-19
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06

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