Chigwell
Epping Forest 016 · 4 sub-areas · 7,081 residents
Epping Forest 016, in the Epping Forest district of Essex, is a largely owner-occupied area of around 7,100 people sitting on the edge of Greater London's commuter belt. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £1,570 a month — noticeably above the UK median for a two-bed, reflecting the premium buyers and renters pay for easy access to London and the forest itself.
Chigwell is a mid-density neighbourhood of Epping Forest in the East of England region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services. 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 Chigwell?
2 parks and 1 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents sit firmly in the upper bracket nationally, with a typical home letting at around £1,826 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Chigwell in Epping Forest
Living in Chigwell
This part of Epping Forest district is defined by one overriding fact: almost nobody rents here. Around 82% of households own their home, making it one of the most heavily owner-occupied pockets in the East of England. That shapes everything about the feel of the place — stable, settled, quiet. Turnover is low, streets are residential rather than transient, and the private rental market is correspondingly thin at roughly 13% of households.
Rents sit well above the national norm for the area's property types. A two-bedroom home runs around £1,570 a month and a three-bedroom closer to £1,920 — steep by East of England standards, though buyers pay a steeper premium still, with a median sale price nudging £700,000. Saving a deposit is a genuine stretch: at current rents and prices, it takes the typical household roughly nine years to accumulate a 10% deposit, which is significantly longer than the national average.
The population skews older and more established than most Essex neighbourhoods. Nearly 42% of residents are aged 50 or over, and nearly a quarter are in the 50–64 bracket alone. Coupled with a 23% share of couple-with-children households, this is a place where families put down roots and stay. Around 41% of residents hold a degree-level qualification — well above the regional baseline.
Practically speaking, the nearest metro station is roughly 1.2 km away on foot, making rail a realistic option for commuters. The public-transport commute to London runs at around 65 minutes, which is long enough to feel like a proper commute rather than a quick hop — that's reflected in the high work-from-home rate of 44.5%, one of the highest you'll find anywhere. About 40% of residents drive to work. Broadband infrastructure is strong, with 100% gigabit coverage across the area. For more on streets and sub-areas, see the sub-areas section below.
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Frequently asked
- Is Epping Forest 016 a nice place to live?
- For the right buyer or renter, yes. It's quiet, settled, and well-connected to London by rail — and with nearly half of residents working from home, many find they rarely need to commute at all. The trade-off is cost: rents are high relative to incomes, and the local property market is one of the priciest in Essex.
- What is the rent in Epping Forest 016?
- A one-bedroom home runs around £1,220 a month, a two-bedroom about £1,570, and a three-bedroom roughly £1,920. These figures are estimates scaled from district-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 6.5% in the past year.
- Is Epping Forest 016 safe?
- Broadly yes. The crime rate is around 76 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, slightly below the UK national average of roughly 80 per 1,000. The area scores in the least-deprived 20% of neighbourhoods nationally, which tends to correlate with lower crime and better outcomes across the board.
- What's the commute from Epping Forest 016 to London?
- By public transport it's around 65 minutes to central London — a genuine long commute. The nearest underground or metro station is about 1.2 km away. That said, around 44.5% of residents here work from home, which takes some of the sting out of the distance.
- Who lives in Epping Forest 016?
- Predominantly older, established owner-occupiers — over 40% of residents are aged 50 or above, and 82% own their home. It's a family and couple-heavy area with a high degree-qualification rate of around 41% and low residential turnover. The private rental market is thin at around 13% of households.
- What schools are near Epping Forest 016?
- There are 29 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 32% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national benchmark of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 3.5 km away. It's worth checking individual catchments carefully before committing to the area.
- Is Epping Forest 016 good for families?
- It has real appeal for families who own or can afford to buy — low crime, green space within walking distance for nearly half of residents, and a stable community. The school picture is weaker than you'd expect at this price point, so checking specific catchments is essential. The long London commute is the other honest caveat.