A STUDY has revealed Essex is one of the top ten counties to move to in the whole of the UK.

A recent study from Bird & Co has uncovered the UK’s most sought-after locations.

It comes after the company analysed June 2021 figures from the Office of National Statistics, HM Land Registry and Rightmove.

The study found a whopping net number of 5,661 UK citizens moved to Essex in 2020-21 - making it the fifth most popular county to move to.

Essex has remained in the top five for the past three years and in 2019 to 2020 the county ranked third with a net migration figure of a staggering 7,089.

Bird & Co’s study includes statistics on net internal migration, property transactions, average house prices and the average ages of people migrating to the region.

According to net internal migration data, people flocking to Essex are moving to:

  1. Tendring: 1,743
  2. Uttlesford: 1,248
  3. Chelmsford: 759
  4. Maldon: 651
  5. Colchester: 604
  6. Braintree: 437
  7. Castle Point: 406
  8. Rochford: 353
  9. Epping Forest: 148
  10. Brentwood: 29
  11. Harlow: -281
  12. Basildon: -436

Tendring is the most popular district in Essex while Harlow and Basildon were the only two authorities to have more people move out than they did move in.

The age brackets of people moving to the county were also mixed.

Maldon and Colchester comprised of the youngest migrants of newborns to 19-year-olds while Braintree, Rochford and Uttlesford attracted 30-39-year-olds.

The eldest migrant population was that of Tendring with people aged 60 to 64.

All other areas appealed predominately to 20-29-year-olds.

Essex’s total of 87,184 home transactions is the second highest transaction figure of all top ten counties suggesting its housing market is one of the most lucrative in the country.

Although Basildon had a significant number of people move from the area, its yearly transactions stand at 10,685 – the second highest of all authorities in Essex after Rochford.

The average house price in Essex is £409,267 which is a figure substantially higher than other counties.

Daniel Chard, at Bird & Co, said: “Our research has been based on several reputable data sources, but is just a micro-study into some of the UK’s most sought-after locations. The research demonstrates some clear trends as well as throwing up a few surprises.

“With the housing market continuing to flourish after an unstable 2020, homeowners could really benefit from doing their own research to figure out if they’re happy to continue living in their region, despite a potentially huge influx.

“Similarly, landlords and investors may want to consider targeting new regions of the UK to boost profitability.”

The full top 10 list of places, alongside some more detailed stats about each location, can be found here.