The first known survey of Chenies was made by Pym in 1633. There was no accompanying map however to fix the position of the buildings he listed. The next survey was made in1735-6, and although a map accompanied this, it was originally drawn up for a survey of woodlands in the area. The numbers on it do not always agree with those in the 1735 list, and in some cases correlation was difficult.
The first directory of Bucks, in 1853, lists the ‘gentry’ and ‘trades’, but not the estate workers and other labourers, who would have made up the bulk of the population. This directory shows 20 tradesmen including farmers, and the national schoolmistress and school master!
The 1838 apportion of rent-charge in lieu of tithes gives the holdings of land in detail, showing exactly how much of the parish was in possession of the Duke of Bedford, and how much in other ownership. At this time there were fourteen other landowners, in addition to the Duke of Bedford and the Rector. Surveys of population from 1800-1900 made every 10 years give the following figures:
| Year | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 |
| Pop. | 423 | 510 | 595 | 649 | 625 | 565 | 468 | 495 | 388 | 378 |
Some take at random from 1900 onwards show a marked rise in population:
| Year | 1901 | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1961 | 1966 |
| Pop. | 324 | 341 | 366 | 652 | 1068 | 1120 |
The period of highest population in the 19th century corresponds to a re-building programme, when many of the old timber-framed cottages were pulled down and replaced by the Victorian model cottages which still stand today. The rise in population in the 20th century after the ’39-’45 war corresponds to another period of expansion, when the south ward of the parish was formed near Chorleywood station, giving a settlement quite separate from the original village, which was termed the north ward. The two wards have separate representatives on the parish council, three for the north and four for the south. In recent years the South Ward was split from the Chenies North Ward.
A breakdown of the 1841 figures for the total population: 304 men & 321 women
Of these 463 born in the parish and 162 ‘foreigners’. There was a total of 126 houses, only three of which were uninhabited.