Highwoods

Colchester · East of England · population 9,694 · 6 LSOAs

Approximate neighbourhood (MSOA) boundary. © OpenStreetMap contributors; boundary © ONS / Crown copyright.

58Area Score / 100 ?
  • #2,911 of 6,856 in England
  • #400 of 746 in East of England
  • #14 of 21 in Colchester
  • Around the England average
Compare this area →

People living here Census 2021

Residents9,690
Median age (est.)38
Density2,858per km²
No qualifications14%
Degree or above34%
No car or van18%

Age

0–14 20%15–24 12%25–44 30%45–64 27%65+ 12%

Tenure

Own outright: 24%Mortgage/shared: 34%Social rent: 14%Private rent: 27%
Own outright 24%Mortgage/shared 34%Social rent 14%Private rent 27%

Households

One person: 32%Couple, no children: 17%Couple with children: 29%Lone parent: 12%Other: 10%
One person 32%Couple, no children 17%Couple with children 29%Lone parent 12%Other 10%

Work (top occupations)

Professional 22% · Associate professional 13% · Managers & directors 12%

All occupation groups
Professional22%
Associate professional13%
Managers & directors12%
Caring & leisure11%
Administrative10%
Elementary9%
Skilled trades9%
Sales & customer service7%
Process & plant6%

Ethnic group

White: 85%Asian: 6%Black: 4%Mixed: 3%Other: 2%
White 85%Asian 6%Black 4%Mixed 3%Other 2%

Religion & identity

No religion 47% · Christian 42% · Muslim 3%

Born outside the UK: 17%

Census 2021 (ONS), Crown copyright, OGL v3.0. Shares are of each question's own respondents (e.g. education is % of residents aged 16+). Figures date from March 2021 and change slowly between censuses.

In summary

Highwoods is close to the England average for deprivation, ranked #2,911 of 6,856 neighbourhoods nationally, and #14 of 21 in Colchester. Across the seven themes it scores highest on Living environment (91) and lowest on Health (36). Typical homes here sold for about £287,500 over the past year, up 17% across five years (from 131 sales), 13% below the wider Colchester median of £330,000. Cheaper homes only partly offset the deprivation score, leaving it at #1,637 of 6,851 on our affordability-adjusted measure. Typical household take-home income is around £46,896 a year, in the top third of England. Recorded crime ran at 72 incidents per 1,000 residents over the past year, close to the England rate of 83.

Themed scores ?

Each 0–100, higher = less deprived on that theme. National rank shown.

Income 49 · #3,515
Employment 49 · #3,467
Education 62 · #2,624
Health 36 · #4,351
Crime 59 · #2,795
Housing & access 49 · #3,474
Living environment 91 · #622

House prices ?

£287,500median (12m) · +4.5% yr · n=131
TypeMedian (12m)Sales1yr5yr
All homes£287,500131+4.5%+17.3%
Detached£450,00031-0.6%+38.5%
Semi-detached£306,25036+5.2%+30.0%
Terraced£263,75046-0.5%+17.2%
Flat£159,00018+6.0%+9.7%
This area£287,500
Colchester£330,000
East of England£348,000
England£300,000
Annual median price, all homes. Small samples can be volatile.

Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Household income

Net household income (a year)£46,896±£6,649 · #1,656 of 6,856
After housing costs (equivalised)£34,214
Price-to-income ?6.1×typical home ÷ net income — less stretched than the England figure of 7.5×

Model-based ONS estimates (FYE 2023) with 95% confidence intervals — a guide to the typical household, not a measurement. How income estimates work →

Affordability-adjusted Score ?

76Affordability-adjusted Score / 100
Best-value areas in England →

Recorded crime ?

72 crimes per 1,000 residents · 12 months · 700 offences
Colchester86
East of England70
England83

Rank #3,674 of 6,427 areas with published data (1 = lowest recorded rate).

Category (12 months)Recorded
Violence & sexual offences352
Theft140
Burglary24
Vehicle crime35
Criminal damage & arson61
Public order & weapons63
Drugs15
Robbery3
Other7

Anti-social behaviour, recorded separately: 62 incidents.

Recorded incidents, not convictions. Crimes are counted where they happen while residents are counted where they live, so busy town-centre, retail and nightlife areas show high per-resident rates because visitors bring incidents with them. Street-level crime data © Crown copyright, data.police.uk, OGL v3.0. More on crime figures →

Official sources

Nearby areas

The closest neighbourhoods on the map, whichever authority they fall in.

Other areas in Colchester

Similar areas across England

Neighbourhoods with the closest Area Score elsewhere in the country, for comparison.