What's the air quality in Rochford? NO₂ 9.9 µg/m³

In 2025 the average resident of Rochford lived with background NO₂ of 9.9 µg/m³, Very High for England and Wales and about the WHO guideline of 10. PM2.5 was 8.6 µg/m³, Very High for England and Wales and 1.7 times the WHO guideline of 5. The typical area in England and Wales has NO₂ of 7.2 and PM2.5 of 7.4 µg/m³.

PM2.5
8.6 µg/m³
NO₂ for England and Wales
Very High
Figures for
2025 annual average

Modelled background levels averaged over where residents live (Census 2021), not roadside levels. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Defra modelled background pollution, 2025. How we calculate this

All house prices in Rochford
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Is the air quality good in Rochford?

Background NO₂ in Rochford is 9.9 µg/m³, about the WHO guideline of 10, and higher than the typical area (7.2). That puts it in the Very High band. Background PM2.5 in Rochford is 8.6 µg/m³, 1.7 times the WHO guideline of 5, and higher than the typical area (7.4). That puts it in the Very High band. Most of England and Wales is above the WHO guideline for PM2.5, so the bands compare places with each other rather than giving a pass or fail.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂): 9.9 µg/m³

NO₂ level is Very High, on a scale from Very Low to Very High.

Very High means the highest fifth of areas in England and Wales for NO₂.

NO₂ bands for areas in England and Wales, in µg/m³, with the map colour for each
Very Lowup to 4.7
Low4.7 to 6.5
Typical6.5 to 7.7
High7.7 to 9.2
Very Highover 9.2

WHO guideline: 10 µg/m³ (in the Very High band). UK legal limit: 40 µg/m³.

Fine particles (PM2.5): 8.6 µg/m³

PM2.5 level is Very High, on a scale from Very Low to Very High.

Very High means the highest fifth of areas in England and Wales for PM2.5.

PM2.5 bands for areas in England and Wales, in µg/m³, with the map colour for each
Very Lowup to 6.0
Low6.0 to 7.2
Typical7.2 to 7.7
High7.7 to 8.2
Very Highover 8.2

WHO guideline: 5 µg/m³ (in the Very Low band). UK legal limit: 20 µg/m³, with a target of 10 µg/m³ in England by 2040.

The bands split every area we cover into fifths by its level, from Very Low to Very High. The map uses the same colours.

Which part of Rochford has the cleanest air?

Foulness has the lowest background NO₂ of the 13 areas of Rochford, at 7.6 µg/m³. Rayleigh has the highest, at 10.8 µg/m³. Average house prices are shown alongside, so you can weigh air quality against cost.

Areas of Rochford by background NO₂, lowest first, with PM2.5 and average house price
AreaNO₂PM2.5Average price
FoulnessTypical7.68.4—
PagleshamHigh8.28.3£330,000
CanewdonHigh8.48.4£421,533
StambridgeHigh8.88.3£381,625
Great WakeringHigh8.88.5£365,591
AshingdonVery High9.28.6£462,458
HawkwellVery High9.38.6£405,165
HockleyVery High9.48.6£472,103
Barling MagnaVery High9.68.5£486,437
HullbridgeVery High9.78.7£410,249
SuttonVery High9.98.5£770,000
RawrethVery High10.88.6£525,025
RayleighVery High10.88.6£442,637

Levels in µg/m³, 2025 annual average.

How does air quality in Rochford compare with nearby areas?

Background NO₂ in Rochford compared with the 6 nearest other areas in Essex.

Compare Rochford with a different area

Does this include busy roads?

No. These are background levels: yearly averages over 1 km squares, away from the immediate influence of roads. Right beside a busy road in Rochford, NO₂ can be much higher. Councils publish roadside monitoring in their annual air quality reports.

What else do people ask about Rochford?

More quick answers on house prices, sales, areas, green space, crime, air quality and listed buildings in Rochford.

Where does this data come from?

Price information is from HM Land Registry, location boundaries are from OpenStreetMap, and households and population are from Nomis Census 2021 postcode estimates (21 March 2021). Parks and green space are from OS Open Greenspace. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Crime is from police.uk street-level data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk. Listed buildings and scheduled monuments are from Historic England and Cadw, and conservation areas from planning.data.gov.uk. © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Source: planning.data.gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Air quality is from Defra modelled background pollution maps. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Defra modelled background pollution, 2025.

Last updated 11 November 2026 at 01:14 with the latest Land Registry data (September 2026). The Rochford dataset covers 2,870 postcodes.

Read our full data methodology

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

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