Epping Forest
Epping Forest is a town or village in Essex, England. It has around 3 restaurants and cafés, 4 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is North Weald, 1.6 km away. There were around 25 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly Violence & sexual offences. Covers 33 towns with local open-data for the whole authority.
On deprivation, Epping Forest is less deprived than the average in England (IoD2019). It is home to around 134,979 residents at roughly 398 people per km².
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 114th of 294 English council areas — better than 61% 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
14°COvercast
- Today: 23° / 13° · 21% rain
- Tomorrow: 24° / 17° · Patchy rain nearby
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:27Sunset 19:23
12h 56m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
15US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Bexley - Belvedere West, United Kingdom
Crime
33 reported · July 2026▲ 57% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences12
- Anti-social behaviour5
- Other theft5
- Burglary3
4 stop & searches
Neighbourhood team: Epping and Ongar · Essex
Local policing priorities
- Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) - Concerns from residents about ASB in Epping Forest particularly in hotspot areas including Debden Broadway,…
- Violent Crime - Concerns about serious violence and drug-related harm in Epping Forest.
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
302 reported road collisions (2024)
76 killed or seriously injured · 371 casualties · 22.4 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
120 food businesses within 2 miles
- 97 rated 4–5 ★ (84 top)
- 3 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: North Weald (1.6 km)
- 4 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Harlow Town (8.3 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£536,765 average▲ 4.9% YoY
Across Epping Forest · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,843 average monthly rent▲ 5.7% YoY
- 1 bed £1,229
- 2 bed £1,583
- 3 bed £1,939
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
12.4× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 12.4 times median annual pay (13.0× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 136.8p · AppleGreen (2.2 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 140.8p · AppleGreen (2.2 km)
8 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
13 charging locations within ~8 km
- 4 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 150 kW
- Nearest: Cottis Lane Car Park (2.5 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools1
- Sports pitches7
- Golf courses1
- Playgrounds3
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
134,979 residents in Epping Forest · 398/km²
- Under 16: 19%
- 16–64: 62%
- 65+: 19%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Less deprived than the average in England
Ranked 200 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,277 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band D (24% of 58,610)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
54 schools · 19,253 pupils
35 primary · 7 secondary · 12 other
Ofsted: 17 of 18 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (94%)
45inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Davenant Foundation SchoolGood
- Epping St John's Church of England SchoolGood
- Roding Valley High SchoolGood
- Debden Park High School
- King Harold Business & Enterprise Academy
- The Ongar Academy
- West Hatch High School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Epping Forest
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
- Within the Green Belt
- 25 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
277 applications decided
70.4% granted · 195 granted, 82 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Council control
Conservative (minority)
- Lab 1
- Con 19
- LD 6
- Ref 12
- Oth 16
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools1
- Parks & greens5
- Restaurants & cafés3
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
9,040 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Local economy
£883 median full-time weekly pay
3.2% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£36,421 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
44% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 58,461 certificates
8.5% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Health
Life expectancy: 85.2 yrs women · 80.8 yrs men
61% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.6
- Feeling worthwhile8.1
- Happiness yesterday7.6
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.5
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Epping Forest:
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership372 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office370 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test370 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
- Make it compulsory for children to wear gloves ice skating 341 local signatures · 28,170 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s287 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Gernon Bushes · 0.8 kmGernon Bushes is a 32 hectare nature reserve north-east of Epping in Essex, England, which is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Epping Forest Site of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Conserv…
- Intrepid Aviation · 0.8 km
Intrepid Aviation was an aviation museum based in hangar #4 in North Weald Airfield in North Weald, Essex, England. It was founded by David Gilmour of the rock band Pink Floyd, to own and operate his collection of v…
Roughtalley's Wood · 0.9 kmRoughtalley's Wood is a 3.4 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Theydon Garnon parish in Essex, England. It is owned and managed by Epping Forest District Council.
Thornwood Common Flood Meadow · 1.2 kmThornwood Common Flood Meadow is a 3-hectare (7.4-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Thornwood Common in Essex. It is owned and managed by Epping Forest District Council.
- Thornwood Common · 1.3 km
Thornwood Common is a village on the B1393 road, in the civil parish of North Weald Bassett and the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 1016.
Coopersale · 1.3 kmCoopersale, also termed Coopersale Common, is a village in the civil parish of Epping, within the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. In 2024 it had an estimated population of 1,050.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Towns in Epping Forest
- Abridge
- Broadley Common
- Buckhurst Hill
- Bumble's Green
- Chigwell
- Chigwell Row
- Chipping Ongar
- Coopersale
- Enfield
- Epping
- Epping Upland
- Fyfield
- High Beech
- Hoddesdon
- Loughton
- Lower Nazeing
- Matching Green
- Moreton (Epping Forest)
- Nazeing
- North Weald Bassett
- Redbridge
- Roydon (Epping Forest)
- Roydon Hamlet
- Sawbridgeworth
- Sewardstone
- Sheering
- Shelley (Epping Forest)
- Stapleford Abbotts
- Theydon Bois
- Thornwood Common
- Waltham Abbey
- Waltham Cross
- Waltham Forest