OpenCrime

The safest places to live in Essex

Of the 14 local authority areas in Essex with a full year of published data, the lowest recorded crime rates are in Maldon, Rochford and Uttlesford. Maldon's figure is 49.4 offences per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to June 2026, about 46% below the England and Wales average of 91.2. Nationally, its rate is the 17th lowest of the 314 ranked areas.

14 areas ranked, every one with a full year of published data
91.2 England and Wales average, crimes per 1,000 residents
49.4 lowest rate in the table, Maldon

What this ranks. Crimes the police recorded, per 1,000 residents, in the 12 months to June 2026. It is not a measure of how much crime happened: somewhere people report more looks worse than somewhere people report less. Town centres carry the crime of everyone who visits them against the population of the few who live there, which is why compact city districts sit near the top and rural districts near the bottom. Areas whose police force has stopped filing returns are left out entirely rather than shown as safe. How the figures work sets all of it out.

Every area in Essex

Lowest recorded crime rate first. Rank 1 in the England and Wales column is the highest recorded rate in the country.

# Area County Per 1,000 Per 1,000 workday Offences Year on year Rank in E&W
1 Maldon Essex 49.4 54.9 3,413 +4.2% 298 of 314
2 Rochford Essex 50.0 56.7 4,486 +3.0% 296 of 314
3 Uttlesford Essex 60.6 60.6 5,762 +0.1% 266 of 314
4 Braintree Essex 60.7 68.5 9,980 -4.6% 263 of 314
5 Castle Point Essex 61.0 67.8 5,529 -0.4% 258 of 314
6 Brentwood Essex 74.5 76.2 5,912 +5.1% 207 of 314
7 Epping Forest Essex 75.6 78.9 10,385 +1.0% 204 of 314
8 Chelmsford Essex 81.3 82.3 15,347 +3.2% 174 of 314
9 Tendring Essex 92.3 102.3 14,473 +4.4% 128 of 314
10 Colchester Essex 92.8 96.2 18,570 +6.0% 124 of 314
11 Basildon Essex 98.1 101.0 18,999 +2.2% 108 of 314
12 Thurrock Essex 99.4 104.4 17,988 +3.0% 102 of 314
13 Harlow Essex 106.5 116.0 10,462 +2.9% 83 of 314
14 Southend-on-Sea Essex 112.1 117.1 20,766 +8.1% 62 of 314

Home Office recorded crime, published at data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence. The ranking uses ONS mid-year resident estimates, which is what the rest of the field publishes. The second column divides the same crimes by the Census 2021 workday population, everyone who is in the area during the working day rather than only those who sleep there. Where the two disagree sharply the place is a town centre, and the workday figure is the fairer one. Census day fell under Covid restrictions with widespread home working, so central London workday counts are lower than a normal year. Rank 1 in the England and Wales column is the highest recorded resident rate in the country.

The other end of the table

This table runs from the lowest rate. For the same areas ranked the other way, see where crime is highest. To put two specific places side by side, use the comparison tool.

Safest places by county

The same table cut to one county, for counties with at least three published areas.

Ranked by a single offence

The same areas over the same year, ranked one offence at a time. The order changes a great deal between them: shoplifting concentrates where the shops are, bicycle theft where the bicycles are, and neither follows the overall rate.

Figures cover the 12 months to June 2026, the most recent month any force has published. Police data arrives roughly two months in arrears.