Photo: Michael FORD · CC BY-SA 2.0Below 99% of UK towns: 3.2% of households have no car or van
The median age in Southend is 50.3, higher than in 86% of UK towns. For Southend, the census puts married adults and civil partners at 61%. The 2021 Census counted 707 residents in 287 households. Against a figure of 30% across England’s towns, the share of one-person households in Southend comes in at 17%.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 9.7% in Southend, less than in 53% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 22%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 75% of UK towns: 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Full-time students: 5.4%, above 72% of UK towns. The wider picture: just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 88% of UK towns: 2.5 people each on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Berkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Households with dependent children are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 29%. Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.8% of the total.
Southend sits below 93% of UK towns for households in terraced houses (8.4%)
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Households in flats make up 5.9%, against 23% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%. 54% of households live in a detached house.
More residents whose main language is English than 73% of UK towns: 99%
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in Africa (2.4%) and in EU countries (2.1%). Set beside that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 6.4% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns.
53% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 71% of UK towns don’t reach
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 93% of Southend · Berkshire’s towns 62% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 73% across England’s towns, 93% of residents describe themselves as White British in Southend. The usual figure: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (5.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Indian (0.4%).
In Southend, 25% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 92% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
The census found that nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care in Southend. As a reference point, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
43% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 43% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 12% hold no qualification (18%).
Southend is older than every town around it
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southend | 707 | — | 50.3 | 22% | 29% |
| Theale | 3,053 | 2.9 mi | 42.3 | 18% | 25% |
| Upper Bucklebury | 1,036 | 3.6 mi | 47.5 | 24% | 32% |
| Upper Basildon | 1,074 | 3.8 mi | 47.1 | 20% | 32% |
| Burghfield Common | 6,216 | 4.2 mi | 42.8 | 18% | 35% |
| Pangbourne | 3,279 | 4.3 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Mortimer | 2,932 | 5 mi | 47.3 | 24% | 29% |
| Thatcham | 25,537 | 5.3 mi | 41.1 | 16% | 31% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Berkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Berkshire (or England), summed the same way as Southend’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Southend’s residents
What is the population of Southend?
The 2021 Census counted 707 people in Southend’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Southend?
The median age was 50.3 at the 2021 Census. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Southend?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 62% across Berkshire’s towns. 6.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Southend?
40% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Southend good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Southend’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.