Clayton-le-Woods
Chorley 003 · 6 sub-areas · 10,333 residents
Chorley 003 is a residential stretch within Chorley, in Lancashire's North West, home to around 10,300 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £739 a month — well below the UK average for a 2-bed and very affordable by any national standard. The area skews older and is overwhelmingly owner-occupied, which shapes its quiet, settled character.
Clayton-le-Woods is a settled residential pocket of Chorley. The bigger gravitational centre is Manchester, around 67 minutes away by direct train, but most days don't require leaving — local life is what people are here for. 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 Clayton-le-Woods?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; there's effectively nothing within walking distance — eating out, drinking and shopping mean a drive; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; rents are below the national norm, with a typical home letting at around £773 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 6 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Clayton-le-Woods in Chorley
Living in Clayton-le-Woods
This part of Chorley is about as settled as residential England gets. More than four in five homes are owner-occupied — a rate that sits dramatically above most UK towns of comparable size — and the age profile reflects that stability: the 50-and-over population accounts for well over two-fifths of residents. You're not in a transient area with a revolving door of renters. People tend to stay.
On cost, it's genuinely affordable. A two-bedroom home comes in at around £739 a month, and even a three-bedroom property sits under £900. Rents rose about 6% year-on-year, so there's upward pressure, but you're still paying a fraction of what comparable space would cost in Manchester or the South East. With a median annual salary of around £33,300 for residents, the rent-to-income ratio — about 38% of take-home — is real but not extreme by UK norms.
The population is notably homogeneous: over 95% of residents were born in the UK, and the ethnic diversity index is low at 6.4. That's simply the demographic reality of this part of Lancashire. Degree-level qualifications are held by around 39% of residents — a solid share, pointing to a professional commuter population rather than a purely local working economy.
For getting around, the car is king here. Nearly 60% of residents drive to work, and just 1.5% use public transport. The nearest rail station is roughly 2.1 km away — around a 26-minute walk, though most people drive to it. Manchester is around 65 minutes away by public transport, which is workable for occasional trips but not an easy daily commute without a car. Broadband, at least, is excellent: 100% gigabit coverage, with no properties falling below the universal service obligation.
For sub-areas and specific streets, see the breakdown below.
What you'll need on day one
Compare Clayton-le-Woods with
Frequently asked
- Is Chorley 003 a nice place to live?
- For settled family life or those approaching retirement, it's a strong option. It's quiet, safe by national standards, heavily owner-occupied, and affordable. It's less suited to young renters wanting urban energy or excellent public transport — the car-dependency and lower renter share mean it has a suburban, residential feel rather than a lively town-centre vibe.
- What is the rent in Chorley 003?
- A one-bedroom property runs around £579 a month, a two-bedroom around £739, and a three-bedroom around £875. These are estimates based on local sale prices scaled from council-level data. Rents rose about 6% year-on-year, but the area remains well below the UK median for comparable property sizes.
- Is Chorley 003 safe?
- Yes, relatively. The crime rate is around 67 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, noticeably below the UK national average of around 80. The area is also in the top 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England, which tends to correlate with lower crime and a more stable community.
- What's the commute from Chorley 003 to Manchester?
- Around 65 minutes by public transport, but most residents drive — only 1.5% commute by public transport. The nearest rail station is about 2.1 km away. If you're planning to commute regularly to Manchester, a car will make it much more practical than relying on bus or rail connections.
- Who lives in Chorley 003?
- Predominantly older homeowners — residents over 50 make up around 43% of the population, and more than four in five homes are owner-occupied. About a third work from home. It's a quiet, settled community rather than a transient or younger renter-heavy area, with a degree-holding professional population that tends to commute out for higher-paying work.
- What schools are near Chorley 003?
- There are 53 schools within 2 km of typical residents, but only around 46% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 3.7 km away. It's worth checking individual Ofsted reports carefully rather than assuming nearby automatically means high quality here.
- How affordable is buying a home in Chorley 003?
- More affordable than most of England. The median house price is around £274,000, and with local resident salaries averaging £33,300 a year, saving a 10% deposit takes roughly four years — a competitive figure compared to southern England or major cities. The high ownership rate of 83.5% suggests most people who settle here do end up buying.