Chelmsford: local statistics
Chelmsford is a district council area in the East of England, home to an estimated 190,570 people (mid-2025). This page brings together 10 official figures for the area, each with its period, publisher and the address it was read from. See also who has power over Chelmsford, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
9,495 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Chelmsford in March 2026, 7% more than in 2016. That is 50 for every 1,000 residents, the 16th highest of 45 in the East of England.
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Chelmsford is £2,300.18, 4.2% more than in 2025-26. That makes it the 36th highest of 45 in the East of England. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,563.07.
The median full-time employee living in Chelmsford was paid £878.30 a week before tax in April 2025, or £46,179 over a year. It is the 13th highest of all 45 council areas in the East of England, and 9.1% more than across the East of England. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £791.30, £87.00 lower. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £601.10: a change of +46% before inflation.
An estimated 74.2% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Chelmsford were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 7.2 points); the figure for the East of England was 78.3%. Its lowest reading in the series was 74.2% and its highest 83.3%.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Chelmsford at £378,080 for July 2026, a fall of 2.3% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 17th highest of 45 in the East of England (regional average £337,518). The July peak was £386,792 in 2025, and prices are 26% above July 2016. The average price is 8.2 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Chelmsford. That ratio is mid-table in the East of England, 26th of 45.
The ONS estimates that 190,570 people lived in Chelmsford in mid-2025, up 1.2% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 9.9%; the East of England grew by 8.5% over the same years, 15th of 45 in the East of England, counting from the fastest growth. No earlier year in the series was higher.
A girl born in Chelmsford in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 84.3 years and a boy 81.3 years, on the ONS's period measure, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -0.5 years for women and +0.0 for men. It is close to the middle of all 45 council areas in the East of England (19th highest for women).
Police recorded 13,293 crimes in Chelmsford in the year to March 2026, 69.8 for every 1,000 residents, close to the middle of all 42 council areas in the East of England (20th highest rate). The rate was 73.6 in the year to March 2025. In the year to March 2016 it was 55.8 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
2.7% of Chelmsford residents aged 16 to 64 (3,170 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026, compared with 3.3% in the East of England. A year earlier the rate was 2.6%. Over the last five years it peaked at 3.3% in August 2021 and was lowest at 2.1% in January 2023.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 173,397 |
| 2016 | 175,137 |
| 2017 | 177,102 |
| 2018 | 178,017 |
| 2019 | 179,882 |
| 2020 | 180,488 |
| 2021 | 181,827 |
| 2022 | 183,444 |
| 2023 | 185,919 |
| 2024 | 188,328 |
| 2025 | 190,570 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £299,162 |
| July 2017 | £324,160 |
| July 2018 | £321,408 |
| July 2019 | £330,918 |
| July 2020 | £328,294 |
| July 2021 | £337,227 |
| July 2022 | £383,300 |
| July 2023 | £377,178 |
| July 2024 | £367,032 |
| July 2025 | £386,792 |
| July 2026 | £378,080 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £601.10 a week |
| 2016 | £607.20 a week |
| 2017 | £595.00 a week |
| 2018 | £625.50 a week |
| 2019 | £637.70 a week |
| 2020 | £630.60 a week |
| 2021 | £659.20 a week |
| 2022 | £692.80 a week |
| 2023 | £697.50 a week |
| 2024 | £787.50 a week |
| 2025 | £878.30 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,563.07 |
| 2017-18 | £1,610.68 |
| 2018-19 | £1,687.81 |
| 2019-20 | £1,767.96 |
| 2020-21 | £1,831.19 |
| 2021-22 | £1,867.21 |
| 2022-23 | £1,945.76 |
| 2023-24 | £2,024.84 |
| 2024-25 | £2,122.14 |
| 2025-26 | £2,206.97 |
| 2026-27 | £2,300.18 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 55.8 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 64.3 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 69.7 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 83.7 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 88.5 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 76.6 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 86.1 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 85.2 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 84.3 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 73.6 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 69.8 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 79.1% |
| 2016/17 | 82.7% |
| 2017/18 | 79.8% |
| 2018/19 | 79.3% |
| 2019/20 | 79.1% |
| 2020/21 | 82.7% |
| 2021/22 | 80.2% |
| 2022/23 | 77.0% |
| 2023/24 | 83.3% |
| 2024/25 | 79.9% |
| 2025/26 | 74.2% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.8 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 84.7 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.6 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.1 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 84.3 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 84.4 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 84.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 84.3 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 84.2 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.1 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.3 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 8,865 |
| 2017 | 9,120 |
| 2018 | 9,270 |
| 2019 | 9,485 |
| 2020 | 9,485 |
| 2021 | 9,430 |
| 2022 | 9,455 |
| 2023 | 9,335 |
| 2024 | 9,375 |
| 2025 | 9,385 |
| 2026 | 9,495 |
Questions about Chelmsford
How much is Band D council tax in Chelmsford?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,300.18 for 2026-27.
What is the average salary in Chelmsford?
£878.30 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is the average house price in Chelmsford?
£378,080 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (-2.3% on a year).
What is the population of Chelmsford?
190,570 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is life expectancy in Chelmsford?
84.3 years for women and 81.3 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the crime rate in Chelmsford?
Home Office figures show 13,293 offences in the year to March 2026, or 69.8 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Chelmsford?
The ONS claimant count was 3,170 in August 2026, 2.7% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
Who has power over Chelmsford
Every body that makes decisions for Chelmsford, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Chelmsford council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Chelmsford in official figures this page
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Chelmsford: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat) MP
- Maldon: Sir John Whittingdale (Conservative) MP
- North West Essex: Mrs Kemi Badenoch (Conservative) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
Each value above links to the official file or query it was read from, on 14 October 2026. What each figure measures.
- Recorded crime: Years before April 2020 come from the earlier Home Office table.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for the whole region: the East of England
- UK figures: UK average weekly earnings growth · UK employment rate · UK average house price
- Other council areas in the East of England: Basildon · Bedford · Huntingdonshire · Southend-on-Sea · Thurrock · West Suffolk
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.