Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 95% of UK towns: 7.7%
By its share of households without a car or van (8.2%), Ardleigh is below 91% of UK towns. The village had 1,042 residents in 438 households at the 2021 Census. Married adults and civil partners account for 54%. 43% of households live in a detached house, more than in 81% of UK towns.
A median age of 46.9: Ardleigh is older than 68% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 60–64: 8.1% of residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. More residents aged 65 and over than in 61% of UK towns: 23%.
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.
Full-time students: 4.2%, a lower share than 77% of UK towns
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 36% of Ardleigh’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 22%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 8.8% here. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Ardleigh ranks below 94% of UK towns on one-person households: 23%
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.
Households average 2.4 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 1.6%. Just over a quarter of households have dependent children, a lower share than in 61% of UK towns. On average, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Fewer households in terraced houses than 94% of UK towns: 7.3%
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
Compared with 23% across England’s towns, just over one in ten households live in a flat or apartment here. By way of comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
In Ardleigh, 96% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 68% of UK towns
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (4.9%) and in Africa (1%). On residents born outside the UK, Ardleigh sits higher than 64% of UK towns: 8.1%. The usual figure: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
44% said they have no religion, more than in 68% of UK towns
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: 89% of Ardleigh · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 89%, below 66% of UK towns. The usual figure: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. In Ardleigh, nearly half of residents describe themselves as Christian.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 78% of UK towns, at 28%
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 32 residents. At 10%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in 69% of UK towns. Measured more widely, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Ardleigh, 28% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 21% have no qualification at all (18%).
Nearby, 4 of 7 towns have older populations than Ardleigh
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardleigh | 1,042 | — | 46.9 | 23% | 26% |
| Elmstead Market | 1,767 | 2.9 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 25% |
| Lawford | 4,488 | 3 mi | 43.6 | 21% | 29% |
| Manningtree | 1,676 | 3.6 mi | 53.7 | 34% | 15% |
| East Bergholt | 2,211 | 3.9 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 25% |
| Brantham | 2,081 | 4.3 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 28% |
| Colchester | 130,259 | 4.4 mi | 35.9 | 15% | 31% |
| Wivenhoe | 7,354 | 4.4 mi | 47.1 | 25% | 25% |
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 Ardleigh’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 Ardleigh’s residents
What is the population of Ardleigh?
The 2021 Census counted 1,042 people in Ardleigh’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ardleigh?
The median age was 46.9 at the 2021 Census. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ardleigh?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 8.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ardleigh?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Ardleigh good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ardleigh’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.