Boreham & Little Baddow
Chelmsford 005 · 5 sub-areas · 9,738 residents
Chelmsford 005 is a residential pocket of Chelmsford, in the East of England, home to around 9,700 people. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,300 a month — slightly above the UK national median but comfortably below London-level rents. The area stands out for its unusually high rate of home ownership and a notably high share of residents who work from home.
Boreham & Little Baddow is a green, lower-density part of Chelmsford — parks within walking distance of most addresses, a slower weekday rhythm, and a population skewed toward longer-tenure households rather than transient renters. The demographic profile leans family-aged, with a clear share of households with school-age children; most homes are owner-occupied, so turnover is low and many residents have been here a long time.
Overview
What's it like to live in Boreham & Little Baddow?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,442 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Boreham & Little Baddow in Chelmsford
Living in Boreham & Little Baddow
Chelmsford 005 sits within one of Essex's most established commuter cities, but this particular neighbourhood has a noticeably settled, owner-occupied character. Three in four households own their home — well above what you'd expect in most urban English neighbourhoods — and the streets reflect that: families, longer-term residents, and a relatively low churn of renters.
Rent here is moderate by South East standards. A two-bedroom place runs around £1,300 a month, and a three-bedroom around £1,540. That's not cheap in absolute terms, but it's meaningfully less than you'd pay in most parts of outer London, and reflects the fact that the rental market here is a smaller slice of the overall housing stock. Buying is the dominant tenure, with a median sale price of around £586,000 — steep enough that saving a deposit takes roughly eight years on a typical local salary.
The population skews towards families and established households. Around a quarter of residents are under 18 — significantly higher than you'd find in a city-centre neighbourhood — and couples with children make up over a quarter of all households. The degree-holding share sits at just under 36%, and median resident earnings are around £35,800 a year, somewhat above the median for jobs physically based in the area, which suggests many residents commute out to better-paid work.
Practically speaking, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.9 km away — about a 24-minute walk, or less by bike. From there, rail services connect to London in around an hour. Nearly half of residents drive to work, and an unusually high 41% work from home at least some of the time, which shapes the feel of the neighbourhood during the day. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Chelmsford 005 a nice place to live?
- For families and established owner-occupiers, it's a strong choice. The area is low-deprivation, has a below-average crime rate, and has good rail links to London. The trade-off is that it's expensive to buy into — the median sale price is around £586,000 — and the rental market is limited and pricey relative to local salaries.
- What is the rent in Chelmsford 005?
- A one-bedroom runs around £1,060 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,300, and a three-bedroom around £1,540. Rents rose about 7.7% in the past year. These are estimates scaled from city-level data using local sale prices, rather than directly measured neighbourhood figures.
- Is Chelmsford 005 safe?
- Yes, relatively. The crime rate is around 64 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, noticeably below the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. The neighbourhood sits in the less-deprived half of English areas, and serious violent crime is uncommon here.
- What's the commute from Chelmsford 005 to London?
- By rail it's around 62 minutes to London from Chelmsford station, which is roughly 1.9 km from the neighbourhood — about a 24-minute walk. Almost half of residents commute by car, and a high 41% work from home, so the rail commute isn't universal here.
- Who lives in Chelmsford 005?
- Mostly families and longer-term owner-occupiers. Three in four households own their home, and couples with children make up over a quarter of all households. The under-18 share is high at 24%. It's a settled, relatively homogeneous neighbourhood with a low private-rental turnover.
- What schools are near Chelmsford 005?
- There are 16 schools within typical catchment distance. Around 65% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 2.3 km away. Families should verify current ratings and catchment boundaries directly with Essex County Council.