Colchester
Colchester is a town in Essex, England, with a population of around 123,000. It has 1 pharmacy, 1 supermarket, and 3 restaurants and cafés, 54 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is Colchester Town, 2.9 km away. There were around 141 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly violence & sexual offences. Covers 33 towns with local open-data for the whole authority.
On deprivation, Colchester is around the average in England (IoD2019). It is home to around 192,716 residents at roughly 587 people per km².
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 149th of 294 English council areas — better than 49% of them.
A percentile blend of eight open measures (100 = best in England); bars show this area’s England-wide percentile on each. See the rankings · methodology
Weather
21°CPartly Cloudy
- Today: 25° / 16° · 33% rain
- Tomorrow: 23° / 14° · Sunny
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:28Sunset 19:16
12h 48m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
17US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom
Crime
135 reported · July 2026▲ 13% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences72
- Anti-social behaviour18
- Shoplifting13
- Other theft9
2 stop & searches
Neighbourhood team: Colchester Town West · Essex
Local policing priorities
- Concerns about antisocial behaviour and visible harm across the Colchester district, with particular focus on key hotspot locations inclu…
- Concerns about vehicle related crime in identified hotspot locations across the district, including residential areas within New Town and…
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
322 reported road collisions (2024)
82 killed or seriously injured · 420 casualties · 16.7 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
500+ food businesses within 2 miles
- 399 rated 4–5 ★ (368 top)
- 6 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency · split of the nearest 500
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Colchester Town (2.9 km)
- 54 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Colchester Town (2.8 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£298,003 average▼ 0.3% YoY
Across Colchester · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,196 average monthly rent▲ 2.3% YoY
- 1 bed £819
- 2 bed £1,062
- 3 bed £1,299
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
8.4× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 8.4 times median annual pay (9.0× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 169.9p · Asda (3.5 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 191.7p · Asda (3.5 km)
6 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
44 charging locations within ~8 km
- 13 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 300 kW
- Nearest: VendElectric Creffield Road Site (1.6 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres4
- Gyms2
- Swimming pools21
- Sports pitches51
- Playgrounds16
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
192,716 residents in Colchester · 587/km²
- Under 16: 19%
- 16–64: 63%
- 65+: 18%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Around the average in England
Ranked 181 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
1% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,283 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band B (27% of 86,510)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
88 schools · 31,964 pupils
63 primary · 12 secondary · 13 other
Ofsted: 28 of 32 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (88%)
80inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Colchester County High School for GirlsOutstanding
- Colchester AcademyGood
- Paxman AcademyGood
- Philip Morant School and CollegeGood
- St Helena SchoolGood
- Colchester Royal Grammar SchoolInadequate
- St Benedict's Catholic College
- The Gilberd School
- The Stanway School
- The Thomas Lord Audley School
- The Trinity School
- Thurstable School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Colchester
Care & health services
1,571 CQC-registered services
- Care homes407
- GP practices230
- Dentists309
- Homecare agencies475
- Hospitals & hospices39
CQC ratings: 87% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 17 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Essex
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 39 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
264 applications decided
87.9% granted · 232 granted, 32 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Pam Cox
Labour
Colchester
Recent votes:
- AyeTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- AyeClosure motion
- NoSocial Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading
- AyeDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition
- Lab 9
- Con 18
- LD 12
- Grn 3
- Ref 5
- Oth 4
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools21
- GPs & clinics2
- Pharmacies3
- Supermarkets5
- Parks & greens4
- Restaurants & cafés7
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
8,590 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
2,215 jobs advertised · £39,629 avg
e.g. Mobile Vehicle Technician, Vehicle Service Technician, Mobile Vehicle Technician - South East
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£767 median full-time weekly pay
3.1% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£24,738 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
53% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: C · 96,867 certificates
9.1% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
56% low-carbon electricity
Gas 42% · Nuclear 21% · Solar 16% · Wind 14%
173 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity
Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 83.8 yrs women · 80.4 yrs men
64% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.8
- Feeling worthwhile7.7
- Happiness yesterday7.6
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.2
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Health services
4 GP surgeries · 5 pharmacies in CO3
- Ambrose Avenue Group Practice
- Winstree Medical Practice
- Tollgate Health Centre
Source: NHS Organisation Data Service
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Colchester:
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership485 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s411 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test347 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office338 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Stop taxing Longer Separation Allowance on British armed forces249 local signatures · 22,077 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Lexden · 0.3 kmLexden is a suburb of Colchester in Essex, England, lying approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the city centre. It has a public house called the Crown. The parish church of St Leonard's is dedicated to Leonard of Nob…
- Philip Morant School and College · 0.5 km
Philip Morant School and College is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status located within the Prettygate suburb of Colchester, Essex. The school is named after Philip Morant, a local 18th-century histo…
Lexden Park · 0.8 kmLexden Park is an 8.1 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Lexden, a suburb of Colchester in Essex. It is owned and managed by Colchester Borough Council.
- St Benedict's Catholic College · 0.9 km
St Benedict's Catholic College is a coeducational secondary school in Colchester, Essex, England. As the only remaining Catholic secondary school in Colchester, it is one of the top performing non-selective state scho…
- Alderman Blaxill School · 0.9 km
Alderman Blaxill School was a secondary school with academy status in Colchester, Essex, and was the town's smallest secondary school. It closed in 2014.
- Colchester County High School for Girls · 0.9 km
Colchester County High School for Girls is a selective girls' grammar school with academy status in Colchester, Essex. The school consistently scores highly in the league tables for the UK. It was joint first in the c…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Towns in Colchester
- Berechurch
- Boxted
- Boxted Cross
- Chappel
- Colchester
- Copford
- Dedham
- Dedham Heath
- East Mersea
- Eight Ash Green
- Fingringhoe
- Fordham (Colchester)
- Fordstreet
- Foxash Estate
- Great Horkesley
- Great Tey
- Heckfordbridge
- High Park Corner
- Lamb Corner
- Langenhoe and Abberton
- Langham (Colchester)
- Layer Breton
- Layer-de-la-Haye
- Marks Tey
- Peldon
- Rowhedge
- Stratford St Mary
- Tiptree
- Tolleshunt Knights
- Tye Green (Colchester)
- West Bergholt
- West Mersea
- Wivenhoe