Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0Below 99% of UK towns: 3% of households live in a terraced house
Here 4.1% of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. At the same time, with a median age of 48.9, Barnston is older than 79% of UK towns. The village counted 926 residents and 374 households at the 2021 Census. On the census count, nearly three in five adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Barnston ranks below 85% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 8.5%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are common here: 24%, more than in 69% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
3.7% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 92% 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%.
By class, 40% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). 6.6% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Barnston sits below 99% of UK towns for one-person households (19%)
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.
The average household has 2.5 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. On average, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The share of households with dependent children stands at 28%.
6.7% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 96% of UK towns
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
21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, against 51% in Barnston. In one household in 15 there is no car or van.
Above 76% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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 (2.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%). Lower than in just over two thirds of UK towns: 4.6% of residents were born outside the UK. As a reference point, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 56%, a higher share than 84% 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: 93% of Barnston · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
93% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and African (0.3%). Few places have so few residents with no religion: 38% here, fewer than in 69% of UK towns.
Barnston ranks below 89% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 26%
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
14 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 8.1%, fewer than in just over four fifths of UK towns. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%.
31% 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, 31% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 17% hold no qualification (18%).
Every neighbour of Barnston has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnston | 926 | — | 48.9 | 24% | 28% |
| Little Dunmow | 2,644 | 1.3 mi | 32.2 | 5.5% | 57% |
| Great Dunmow | 10,395 | 1.8 mi | 43.2 | 21% | 28% |
| Felsted | 1,233 | 2.2 mi | 43.7 | 24% | 26% |
| Stebbing | 1,061 | 3.3 mi | 48.7 | 25% | 30% |
| Takeley and Little Canfield | 5,553 | 4.8 mi | 38.4 | 14% | 39% |
| Rayne | 2,169 | 5.4 mi | 44.8 | 21% | 29% |
| Great Leighs | 2,968 | 5.5 mi | 38.9 | 15% | 40% |
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 Barnston’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 Barnston’s residents
What is the population of Barnston?
The 2021 Census counted 926 people in Barnston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Barnston?
The median age was 48.9 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Barnston?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 4.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Barnston?
38% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 4.4% didn’t answer.
Is Barnston good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Barnston’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.