Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Aveley is under 35.9, younger than 94% of UK towns
Terraced houses are home to 36% of households, against 24% across England’s towns. One-person households are rarer here than in 88% of UK towns. Aveley is home to 9,364 residents in 3,494 households, by the 2021 Census. The census found that 68% of residents describe themselves as White British here.
What the Census says about Aveley’s people
A town of families
39% of Aveley’s 3,494 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 97% of UK towns. 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Aveley’s residents are under 35.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Aveley at 7,700 in 2011 and 9,700 in 2024, up 26%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 91% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Growth of +26% since 2011 puts Aveley ahead of 91% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Aveley’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 7,700 people in 2011; 9,700 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 0 to 15 (+41%) and weakest among the 65 and over (+5%). The steepest year was mid-2015 to mid-2016, up 390 people.
12% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 are about as common here as across England’s towns: 12%. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The largest age band is 30–34: 8.4% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Aveley, 35.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
6.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 88% 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%.
7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, against 6.6% in Aveley. Set beside that, 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.
Aveley: 39% of households have dependent children, above 97% of UK towns
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 2.7 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. On the census count, 3.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Across the comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Aveley sits below 98% of UK towns for households in detached houses (6.4%)
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
15% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. Households in detached houses make up 21% across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 19%, a higher share than 92% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are just over a tenth of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 90% of residents have English as their main language.
Only 38% of residents said they have no religion in Aveley
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: 68% of Aveley · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (10%), African (8.7%) and Mixed or multiple (2.9%). Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian; in Aveley, 49%.
41% of adults have never married, more than in 91% 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
238 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Measured more widely, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. On married adults and civil partners, Aveley sits lower than 81% of UK towns: 43%. Unpaid carers: 8.3%, near enough the figure across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Aveley, 25%, and 23% have none, against 18%. Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 16%.
11th youngest of 413 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tidworth (28.4) and the oldest Seaton (61). Nearest to Aveley in age: Berechurch (35.7), Brierfield (35.8), Waltham Cross (36.4) and Bentley (36.5).
Nearby, 2 of 7 towns have older populations than Aveley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aveley | 9,364 | — | 35.9 | 12% | 39% |
| Purfleet-on-Thames | 5,881 | 1.4 mi | 32.7 | 5.1% | 41% |
| South Ockendon | 22,441 | 1.6 mi | 35.7 | 12% | 38% |
| Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock | 23,589 | 2.1 mi | 34.3 | 6.1% | 45% |
| Grays | 44,340 | 3.6 mi | 37.4 | 14% | 36% |
| Stone | 6,438 | 4.1 mi | 35.7 | 8.5% | 34% |
| Swanscombe | 15,462 | 4.1 mi | 35.4 | 11% | 36% |
| Dartford | 69,131 | 4.2 mi | 36.6 | 12% | 38% |
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.
- “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 Aveley’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Aveley’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 9,519 people in 2021, against 9,364 in the built-up area.
- 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 Aveley’s residents
What is the population of Aveley?
The 2021 Census counted 9,364 people in Aveley’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 9,700 people in mid-2024, 26% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Aveley?
The median age was 35.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Aveley?
68% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 19% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Aveley?
38% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 4.8% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Aveley good for families?
39% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Aveley’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.