Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Below 90% of UK towns: 32% of residents said they have no religion
Where 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, Abridge has 34%. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 1,651, in 730 households. Locally, 16% of households live in a detached house. Lower than in just over three quarters of UK towns: 11% of households have no car or van.
24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 66% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Abridge’s residents are over 45.8, older than in 60% of UK towns. In Abridge, 9.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 79% of UK towns: 7.4%
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%.
The share of full-time students trails 71% of UK towns: 4.4%. Elsewhere, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Fewer households with dependent children than 65% of UK towns: 26%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Essex’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
A household here has 2.3 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Measured more widely, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
A lower share of households in terraced houses than 59% of UK towns, at 18%
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
Locally, one in ten households live in a flat or apartment. As a yardstick, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Abridge ranks above 53% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 6.7%
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 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 12% (England’s towns: 21%). For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. On the census count, 98% of residents have English as their main language.
Abridge sits below 73% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (87%)
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: 87% of Abridge · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
2.4% of residents are Muslim. On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Abridge sits higher than 63% of UK towns: 52%.
Above 64% of UK towns: 35% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; in Abridge, 45%. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 83% of UK towns. Set beside that, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
22% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 22% of its adults qualified to degree level, Abridge compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 23% hold no qualification (18%).
Median age: 1 of the 7 towns around Abridge are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abridge | 1,651 | — | 45.8 | 24% | 26% |
| Theydon Bois | 3,540 | 1.8 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 28% |
| Chigwell Row | 2,115 | 2.1 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Loughton | 33,338 | 2.2 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 32% |
| Chigwell | 12,251 | 3.1 mi | 39.3 | 17% | 38% |
| Epping | 10,693 | 3.3 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 29% |
| Buckhurst Hill | 11,749 | 3.8 mi | 41.8 | 18% | 31% |
| Coopersale | 1,067 | 3.9 mi | 43 | 18% | 32% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Essex’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Essex (or England), summed the same way as Abridge’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 Abridge’s residents
What is the population of Abridge?
The 2021 Census counted 1,651 people in Abridge’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Abridge?
The median age was 45.8 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Abridge?
87% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 6.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Abridge?
32% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.4% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Abridge good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Abridge’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.