Birchwood Drive, Colchester, CO4 6AW

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. However, the area surrounding CO4 6AW, has a female population slightly higher than UK average, with 53.3% of residents being female. Several factors can contribute to this. Women generally live longer than men, resulting in a higher proportion of women in neighborhoods with significant elderly populations. Typically, as people grow older, they tend to relocate from city center addresses to suburban areas, smaller towns, and rural locations. Consequently, these areas often have a higher number of females. A higher female population can also be found in areas with industries that employ more women, such as healthcare, education, and retail.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Female	53.8%	53.3%	-0.5%	51.0%	2.3%
Male	46.2%	46.7%	0.5%	49.0%	-2.3%

Partnership Status

Across the UK, the average relationship status breakdown is roughly 44% married, 38% single, 9% divorced, 6% widowed, and 2% separated.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Single	31.1%	37.7%	6.6%	37.9%	-0.2%
Married: Opposite sex	43.9%	44.6%	0.7%	44.2%	0.4%
Separated	1.6%	1.5%	-0.1%	2.2%	-0.7%
Divorced	13.5%	10.5%	-3.0%	9.1%	1.4%
Widowed	9.8%	5.6%	-4.2%	6.1%	-0.5%

Health

Across the UK, the average 48.4% rated their health as Very Good, 33.6% as Good, 12.7% as Fair, 4% as Bad, and 1.2% as Very Bad.

Population age significantly impacts residents' health. Additionally, socioeconomic status plays a crucial role: higher income levels and lower poverty rates are linked to better health outcomes. Affluent areas benefit from higher living standards, access to private healthcare, and healthier lifestyle choices.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Very good health	45.9%	51.8%	5.9%	48.4%	3.4%
Good health	36.2%	30.5%	-5.7%	33.6%	-3.1%
Fair health	9.7%	10.8%	1.1%	12.7%	-1.9%
Bad health	5.6%	5.7%	0.1%	4.0%	1.7%
Very bad health	2.6%	1.2%	-1.4%	1.2%	0.0%

Education and Qualifications

During the 2021 census, the educational qualifications of residents across the UK were as follows: 18.2% had no qualifications, 9.6% had 1-4 GCSEs, 13.4% had 5 or more GCSEs and 1-2 A/AS Levels, 16.9% had 2 or more A Levels, 33.8% held a degree (or equivalent), and 5.4% had completed an apprenticeship.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	30.7%	16.6%	-14.1%	18.2%	-1.6%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	13.9%	10.7%	-3.2%	9.6%	1.1%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	18.4%	12%	-6.4%	13.4%	-1.4%
Apprenticeship	2%	3.8%	1.8%	5.3%	-1.5%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	10.7%	20.2%	9.5%	16.9%	3.3%
Degree or Similar	21.7%	35.5%	13.8%	33.8%	1.7%
Other	2.5%	1.3%	-1.2%	2.8%	-1.5%

Culture

Ethnic Group

This area closely mirrors the overall ethnic composition of the UK, with 82.7% of the population identifying as white, with UK average of 81.4%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Bangladeshi	0%	2%	2.0%	1.1%	0.9%
Chinese	0%	0.4%	0.4%	0.7%	-0.3%
Indian	5.9%	4.1%	-1.8%	3.1%	1.0%
Pakistani	0%	0.8%	0.8%	2.7%	-1.9%
Other Asian	2.1%	2%	-0.1%	1.6%	0.4%
Black African	0%	2%	2.0%	2.5%	-0.5%
Black Caribbean	0.3%	0.6%	0.3%	1.0%	-0.4%
Other Black	0%	1.4%	1.4%	0.5%	0.9%
Mixed White and Asian	0.9%	0.2%	-0.7%	0.8%	-0.6%
Mixed White and Caribbean	0%	1.4%	1.4%	0.9%	0.5%
Mixed Other	0.3%	0.2%	-0.1%	0.8%	-0.6%
White	90.3%	82.7%	-7.6%	81.4%	1.3%
Roma	0%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.0%
Arab	0.3%	1.2%	0.9%	0.6%	0.6%
Other	0%	1%	1.0%	1.6%	-0.6%

Country of Birth

In this area, 85.2% of the population were born in the United Kingdom, which is similar to the UK average of 83.2%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	89.1%	85.2%	-3.9%	83.2%	2.0%
European Union	2.9%	4.4%	1.5%	6.1%	-1.7%
Rest of Europe	0%	1%	1.0%	0.8%	0.2%
Africa	1.2%	2.6%	1.4%	2.7%	-0.1%
Middle East and Asia	5.6%	5%	-0.6%	5.6%	-0.6%
The Americas and the Caribbean	0.9%	1.6%	0.7%	1.3%	0.3%
Oceania	0.3%	0.2%	-0.1%	0.3%	-0.1%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	88.5%	83.9%	-4.6%	83.2%	0.7%
10+ Years	0%	9.2%	9.2%	9.8%	-0.6%
5-10 Years	0.6%	4.1%	3.5%	2.9%	1.2%
2-5 Years	5.3%	2.6%	-2.7%	2.2%	0.4%
Less than 2 years	5.6%	0.2%	-5.4%	1.9%	-1.7%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	76.3%	76.7%	-0.4%
Ireland	0.2%	0.6%	-0.4%
Portugal	0.4%	0.5%	-0.1%
Spain	0.8%	0.4%	0.4%
Poland	1.4%	1.3%	0.1%
Romania	1.8%	0.9%	0.9%
Other Europe	0.4%	0.2%	0.2%
Central and Western Africa	0.8%	0.3%	0.5%
Eastern Asia	0.4%	0.3%	0.1%
Southern Asia	0.2%	1.2%	-1.0%
North America and the Caribbean	0.6%	0.3%	0.3%
No passport held	16.8%	13.5%	3.3%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	45.2%	37.2%	8.0%
Christian	41.3%	46.2%	-4.9%
Hindu	0.6%	1.7%	-1.1%
Muslim	6.5%	6.5%	0.0%
Not answered	6.5%	6.0%	0.5%

Safety

Is Birchwood Drive Street dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around Birchwood Drive was 29.5 per 1,000 residents, which is 66.7% lower than the Highwoods average. The most reported crime type was Criminal damage and arson.

Birchwood Drive has the 14th lowest crime rate of 59 local areas in Highwoods and the 162nd lowest crime rate of 615 local areas in Colchester .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 11.1 crimes per 1,000 residents and have been rising year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has risen by about 47.6%.

🔎 See full breakdown of local crime, hotspots & trends

Affluence

Household Income

Households in this area have a higher level of wealth to the average household in England and Wales. 88% of analyzed areas in England and Wales have lower average household annual income than this area.

Average Household Income
£59,500

Income Rank
9/10

Household Income in CO4 6AW, Local Authority and Region

Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) - 6/10 (average )
Indices of multiple deprivation (IMD) is used to classify the relative deprivation (a measure of poverty) of the area. It considers the following domains:
Income Deprivation Domain - 4/10 (below average )
The Income Deprivation Domain measures the percentage of people in the population who are experiencing poverty due to having a low income. It includes both those who are unemployed and those who are employed but earn very little (and who satisfy the respective means tests).
Employment Deprivation Domain - 6/10 (average )
The Employment Deprivation Domain measures the proportion of the working-age population in an area involuntarily excluded from the labour market. This includes people who would like to work but are unable to do so due to unemployment, sickness or disability, or caring responsibilities.
Education, Skills and Training Domain - 3/10 (low )
The Education, Skills, and Training Deprivation Domain measures the lack of education and skills in a local area. It has two parts: one for children and young people, and one for adults. The part for children and young people looks at their school achievements ('flow'), while the part for adults looks at the number of adults without qualifications ('stock').
Health Deprivation and Disability Domain - 7/10 (above average )
The Health Deprivation and Disability Domain measures the risk of early death and poor quality of life due to bad physical or mental health. It looks at illness, disability, and early death, but not at behaviors or environments that might affect future health.
Crime Domain - 9/10 (very high )
The Crime Domain measures the risk of people and property being victims of crime in a local area.
Barriers to Housing and Services Domain - 7/10 (above average )
The Barriers to Housing and Services Domain measures how easy or hard it is to access housing and local services. It has two parts: one looks at how close local services are, and the other looks at issues like how affordable housing is.
Living Environment Deprivation Domain - 4/10 (below average )
The Living Environment Deprivation Domain measures the quality of the local environment. It has two parts: the "indoors" part looks at housing quality, and the "outdoors" part looks at air quality and road traffic accidents.
Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) - 3/10 (low )
The Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) measures how many children aged 0 to 15 live in low-income families. It is part of the Income Deprivation Domain, which looks at how many people in an area have low incomes. This includes both those who are unemployed and those who work but earn very little (and who satisfy the respective means tests).
Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI) - 6/10 (average )
The Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI) measures the percentage of people aged 60 or older who have low income. It is part of the Income Deprivation Domain, which looks at how many people in an area have low income, including both unemployed people and those with low-paying jobs (and who satisfy the respective means tests).

Property Prices

Average property prices on Birchwood Drive are based on 66 property sales since the beginning of 1995. Estimated property prices are calculated by adjusting the last sale price by current House Price Index for Colchester.
StreetScan downloads house price data directly from the HM Land Registry and uses it to create these statistics.

House Prices for Birchwood Drive, Colchester, CO4 6AW

Estimated Average Property Prices for CO4 6AW

Average Price
£379,745

Semi-Detached
£367,863

Terraced
£327,311

Detached
£432,888

Flats/Maisonettes
£215,670

Other
no sales

Estimated Average Property Prices for Birchwood Drive

Average Price
£510,864

Semi-Detached
£373,048

Terraced
£322,495

Detached
£431,445

Flats/Maisonettes
£215,202

Other
£9,301,082

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on Birchwood DriveStreet

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
31 Birchwood Drive, Colchester, Essex Detached, an established residential building	£465,000	2025-08-08	£462,586
18 Birchwood Drive, Colchester, Essex Terraced, an established residential building	£360,000	2025-03-28	£357,415
16 Birchwood Drive, Colchester, Essex Terraced, an established residential building	£297,500	2025-03-24	£295,364
25 Birchwood Drive, Colchester, Essex Detached, an established residential building	£452,000	2025-02-14	£454,371
37 Birchwood Drive, Colchester, Essex Detached, an established residential building	£450,000	2024-07-12	£464,047

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for CO4 6AW

Employment

CO4 6AW area has a low unemployment rate. According to Census 2021, 2% residents of this area were unemployed, while the average in the UK was 4.83%. A low level of unemployment in an area indicates a strong job market, where most people who are seeking work can find employment. This generally reflects a healthy economy in the area.

Economic Activity

Full-Time Employee	163
Retired	62
Self-Employed	44
Part-Time Employee	39
Long-Term Sick or disabled	24
Looking after home or family	18
Student (economically inactive)	17
Other	13
Unemployed	6
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	4

Employment Industry

Human health and social work activities	31
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	30
Education	15
Manufacturing	12
Construction	10
Administrative and support service activities	7
Transport and storage	7
Accommodation and food service activities	7
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	6
Other	5
Financial and insurance activities	5
Professional, scientific and technical activities	3
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	2
Real estate activities	2
Information and communication	1
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1

Schools

Primary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Myland Community Primary School Mill Road , Mile End CO4 5LD	3out of 4	398 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
Camulos Academy Whitmore Drive , Via Urbis Romanea CO4 6AL	3out of 4	739 yd	Academy sponsor led	No	Mixed	More About School
Queen Boudica Primary School Cowper Crescent , CO4 5XT	3out of 4	1,266 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
Highwoods Community Primary School Tynedale Square , Highwoods CO4 9SN	3out of 4	1,890 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
The Bishop William Ward Church of England Primary School Coach Road , Great Horkesley CO6 4AT	3out of 4	1,909 yd	Voluntary aided school	No	Mixed	More About School

Secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
The Trinity School Brinkley Lane , CO4 9PU	- not rated	1,778 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
The Gilberd School Brinkley Lane , CO4 9PU	4out of 4	1,823 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
St Helena School Sheepen Road , CO3 3LE	3out of 4	2,585 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Colchester Royal Grammar School Lexden Road , CO3 3ND	4out of 4	3,625 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Boys	More About School
St Benedict's Catholic College Norman Way , CO3 3US	3out of 4	4,013 yd	Voluntary aided school	No	Mixed	More About School

16 plus

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Colchester Institute Sheepen Road , CO3 3LL	- not rated	2,787 yd	Further education	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
The Sixth Form College Colchester North Hill , CO1 1SN	- not rated	3,082 yd	Further education	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

Not applicable

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
North East Essex Co-operative Academy Turner Road , Mile End CO4 5LB	3out of 4	588 yd	Academy alternative provision converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
The St Aubyn Centre Education Department St Aubyn Centre , CO4 5HG	4out of 4	702 yd	Pupil referral unit	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Kingswode Hoe School Sussex Road , CO3 3QJ	3out of 4	3,285 yd	Academy special converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Oxford House School 2 Lexden Road , CO3 3NE	- not rated	3,543 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
St Mary's School for Girls 91 Lexden Road , CO3 3RB	- not rated	3,572 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Girls	More About School

School statistics for this postcode are based on Ofsted rankings.

Food and Drink

Restaurants, Cafes, Canteens

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Dog & Pheasant	Dog And Pheasant, 24 Nayland Road		456 yd

Takeaway, Sandwich Shops

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Myland Fisheries	32 Nayland Road, Colchester		411 yd
Subway	Unit 6, Colchester General Hospital		758 yd

Supermarkets, Hypermarkets

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
Co-op Daily	63 Nayland Road, Colchester		414 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
Mill Road Recreation Ground RECREATION GROUND RECREATION GROUND MILL ROAD	grass pitches	439 yd
Mile End Sports Ground Fords Lane	grass pitches	571 yd
Camulos Academy WHITMORE DRIVE	grass pitches	662 yd
David Lloyd Leisure Centre UNITED WAY	swimming pool, tennis courts	886 yd
Colchester United (Jobserve Community Stadium) JOBSERVE COMMUNITY STADIUM JOBSERVE COMMUNITY STADIUM UNITED WAY	artificial grass pitch, grass pitches	937 yd

Broadband

Technology Aviability

Percentage of premises that have Superfast Broadband (30Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	100.0%
Percentage of premises that have Ultrafast Broadband (100Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	100.0%
Percentage of premises that have Ultrafast Broadband (300Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	100.0%
Percentage of premises that have coverage from a Gigabit capable service from fixed broadband	100.0%

Speed Aviability

Percentage of premises unable to receive 2Mbit/s	0.0%
Percentage of premises unable to receive 5Mbit/s	0.0%
Percentage of premises unable to receive 10Mbit/s	0.0%
Percentage of premises unable to receive 30Mbit/s	0.0%

Download Speed

Median download speed	360 Mbit/s
Average download speed	360 Mbit/s
Minimum download speed	360 Mbit/s
Maximum download speed	360 Mbit/s

Upload Speed

Median upload speed	180 Mbit/s
Average upload speed	180 Mbit/s
Maximum upload speed	180 Mbit/s

Broadband statistics are based on Ofcom's Communications Market Report (CMR) 2022.