Living in Cheltenham

In Cheltenham, tenants pay an average rent of €1,473 a month (2026).

Cheltenham had a population of 115,940 at the end of 2021. At the end of 2024, the regional median gross salary stood at €2,943 per month. Cheltenham registered an unemployment rate of 1.74% at the end of 2018.

Last checked 2026-09-2325 sources

Population115,940people31 Dec 2021Official source · Office for National Statistics

Median gross salary (region)2,943EUR/month31 Dec 2024Official source · Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Average rent1,473EUR/month31 Aug 2026Official source · ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Table 1: average monthly rent price by local authority

Unemployment rate1.74%country median 3.4% — 49% belowOfficial source · Eurostat

Recorded crime7,972incidents per 100,000country median 9,646 — 17% belowOfficial source · PFA tables, year ending March 2026 (Table C2 counts; Table C4 rates and mid-2024 population)

PM2.5, annual mean6.33µg/m³31 Dec 2024Official source · uk-air.defra.gov.uk

Lower unemployment than any other United Kingdom city that publishes it and less recorded crime than 80% of United Kingdom cities that publish it.

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

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 Cheltenham.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

No city-level rent figure is published for Cheltenham. 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 pack¹⁷Official · national market
Rent price index, mean	1,473 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), UK: monthly price statistics, 16 September 2026 edition¹⁶Official
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)	1,473 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	ONS Price Index of Private Rents, Table 1: average monthly rent price by local authority¹²Official

Is Cheltenham 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 worker30%strong on work, weak on safety · range 21–39%

Skilled employee62%strong on work, weak on safety · range 54–70%

Student37%strong on education, weak on work · range 30–44%

Family49%strong on family, weak on cost · range 41–57%

Retirement24%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 13–35%

Work and income

At the end of 2021, the employment rate stood at 60.6%. Cheltenham's working population was 58,065 at the end of 2021.

What is the unemployment rate in Cheltenham?

The unemployment rate is about 1.7 % (2018).

Unemployment rate: 1.74 % · Eurostat³

Unemployment across cities in United KingdomUnemployment in Cheltenham is 1.7%. Of 999 cities with data, 652 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

652

263

0–22–44–66–88–1010–1216–18

Cheltenham 1.7%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Employment rate	60.6 %	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁷Official
Median gross salary (regional)	2,943 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	Office for National Statistics (ONS)⁹Official · regional context
Unemployment rate	1.74 %country median 3.4%	31 Dec 2018	Eurostat³Official

Unemployment rate over time7 published observations, 2004–2018

1.3%

3.5%

5.7%

7.9%

1.7%2004201120162018

Unemployment rate fell 66.4% between 2004 and 2018, from 5.2% to 1.7%.

What does a salary buy in Cheltenham?

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

Left over each month€949of €2,459 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.	€2,459
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	− €1,473
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	€949

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

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Cheltenham. 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 Cheltenham. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Primary schools	46 count	3 Aug 2026	Department for Education (GIAS)²Official
Schools	71 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; Cheltenham's school authority applies it locally.

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

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
GP practices	60 count	30 Sept 2026	ODS GP Practices report (epraccur)⁵Official
Pharmacies	32 count	30 Sept 2026	ODS Pharmacy/Dispensaries report (edispensary)⁶Official

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Cheltenham 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 Cheltenham?

Police recorded about 7,972 incidents per 100,000 (2026). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: PFA tables, year ending March 2026 (Table C2 counts; Table C4 rates and mid-2024 population)¹⁵

Recorded crime across major citiesCheltenham 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

Cheltenham7,972

Glasgow757

Edinburgh549

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Burglaries per 100,000 residents	438 incidents per 100,000	31 Dec 2026	PFA tables, year ending March 2026 (Table C2 counts; Table C4 rates and mid-2024 population)¹⁵Official
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	7,972 incidents per 100,000country median 9,646	31 Dec 2026	PFA tables, year ending March 2026 (Table C2 counts; Table C4 rates and mid-2024 population)¹⁵Official
Violent crime per 100,000 residents	2,722 incidents per 100,000	31 Dec 2026	PFA tables, year ending March 2026 (Table C2 counts; Table C4 rates and mid-2024 population)¹⁵Official

Mobility and administration

Cheltenham's nearest airport was BHX, 66 km away and offered 81 direct destinations.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Direct destinations from the nearest major airport	81 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights¹³Official
Distance to the nearest major airport	66 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹⁴Official
Nearest major airport (IATA code)	BHX	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹⁴Official

Climate and air quality

Cheltenham's monthly mean temperatures were 3.7°C in January and 16.6°C in July.

Is the air quality good in Cheltenham?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 6.3 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³.

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

PM2.5 — annual mean: 6.33 µg/m³ · uk-air.defra.gov.uk¹⁹

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

PM2.56.3WHO 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 KingdomAnnual PM2.5 in Cheltenham is 6.3 µg/m³. Of 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

Cheltenham 6.3

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	6.33 µg/m³	31 Dec 2024	uk-air.defra.gov.uk¹⁹Official source, approximated value · Supplemental context
Monthly extreme high temperature	Jan 13.38 · Feb 16.03 · Mar 18.67 · Apr 22.88 · May 25.47 · Jun 29.18 · Jul 33.47 · Aug 32.12 · Sep 27.99 · Oct 26.81 · Nov 17.94 · Dec 13.95 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁴Official · coordinate grid
Monthly extreme low temperature	Jan -8.28 · Feb -9.63 · Mar -6.4 · Apr -4.29 · May -0.65 · Jun 3.47 · Jul 6.39 · Aug 4.81 · Sep 2.57 · Oct -3.49 · Nov -5.24 · Dec -6.32 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁴Official · coordinate grid
Average temperature by month	Jan 3.74 · Feb 3.83 · Mar 5.54 · Apr 8.37 · May 11.57 · Jun 14.7 · Jul 16.65 · Aug 16.24 · Sep 13.81 · Oct 10.49 · Nov 6.68 · Dec 4.38 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁴Official · coordinate grid

Population and city profile

Cheltenham had a median age of 40 years at the end of 2021.

How many people live in Cheltenham?

The published population was 115,940 people in 2021. Source: Office for National Statistics⁸

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Population	115,940 people	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁸Official

International community in Cheltenham

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	98,830	85.2%
Non-EU countries (including British Overseas)	8,950	7.7%
Europe: EU countries	8,160	7.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹¹

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Residents with a bachelor's degree or higher	43 %	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁷Official
Workers aged 16 and over	58,065 workers	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁷Official
Median age	40 years	31 Dec 2021	Office for National Statistics⁷Official
Universities	1 count	3 Aug 2026	Office for Students¹⁰Official

Alternatives for people set on Cheltenham

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.

Oxford as a Cheltenham alternative in the same region

59 km away, better on 1 of 2 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Recorded crime, per 100k cannot be compared like for like.

Median gross pay, region: €3,707 Oxford vs €2,943 Cheltenham+26%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 9,634 Oxford vs 7,972 Cheltenhamno percentage
Residents: 170,805 Oxford vs 115,940 Cheltenham+47%

Full comparison More about Oxford

Basingstoke as a Cheltenham alternative in the same country

98 km away, better on 1 of 2 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Recorded crime, per 100k cannot be compared like for like.

Median gross pay, region: €3,727 Basingstoke vs €2,943 Cheltenham+27%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 5,817 (2025) Basingstoke vs 7,972 (2026) Cheltenhamno percentage
Residents: 117,210 Basingstoke vs 115,940 Cheltenham+1%

Full comparison More about Basingstoke

Cities near Cheltenham

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

Alternative cities in United Kingdom

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

All United Kingdom cities

Basildon115,955 residents Gateshead115,280 residents Basingstoke117,210 residents Stockport117,935 residents Gloucester118,555 residents Worthing111,620 residents

How does Cheltenham compare?

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

Open the full comparison

Cheltenham in rankings

#4 of 30 in Cities with lowest unemployment in United Kingdom #15 of 30 in Safest cities in United Kingdom by recorded crime

Put Cheltenham'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 Cheltenham?

The published population was 115,940 people in 2021. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Is the air quality good in Cheltenham?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 6.3 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: uk-air.defra.gov.uk.

How safe is Cheltenham?

What is the unemployment rate in Cheltenham?

The unemployment rate is about 1.7 % (2018). Source: Eurostat.

What is the typical salary around Cheltenham?

The median gross salary is 2,943 EUR/month. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Is Cheltenham a good place to live?

Cheltenham 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.

Which cities are near Cheltenham?

Charlton Kings, Gloucester, Stroud, Stonehouse, Evesham are near Cheltenham. 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 Cheltenham?

The official country of birth distribution records 98,830 people (85.2%) 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). Cheltenham, United Kingdom: population, rent, salary, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version dff5cdf696af6c755b0e9046d474e10f]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/uk/cheltenham/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_cheltenham-united-kingdom-population-rent-salary-jobs_0e2993818b88,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Cheltenham, United Kingdom: population, rent, salary, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {dff5cdf696af6c755b0e9046d474e10f},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/uk/cheltenham/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Cheltenham, United Kingdom: population, rent, salary, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/uk/cheltenham/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version dff5cdf696af6c755b0e9046d474e10f; 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
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
Office for National Statistics (ONS) ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-06
Office for Students officeforstudents.org.uk · checked 2026-08-03

Show 15 more sources

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
PFA tables, year ending March 2026 (Table C2 counts; Table C4 rates and mid-2024 population) ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-18
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
uk-air.defra.gov.uk uk-air.defra.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-26
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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