Photo: AGC · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer one-person households than 99% of UK towns: 16%
4.9% of households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%). Boxted counted 703 residents and 284 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 63% of households live in a detached house. With a median age of 50.8, Boxted is older than 89% of UK towns.
24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 67% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across England’s towns is 12%. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s 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.
Residents who moved in within the year: 7%, a lower share than 84% 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%.
The figure for full-time students is 5.7% in Boxted and 7.9% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 88% of UK towns: 2.5 people on average
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.
27% of households have dependent children (England’s towns: 29%). Across Boxted, 4.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Below 99% of UK towns: 1.1% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
With households in terraced houses at 6.4%, Boxted is behind 96% of UK towns on that count. Typically, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Boxted sits above 82% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (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 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). 6.3% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 51% of UK towns. To put it in context, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 78% of UK towns: 55%
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: 94% of Boxted · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
94% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Typically, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. The share of residents with no religion stands at 40%.
Married adults and civil partners make up 60% in Boxted, more than in 98% 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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 22 people. 25% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a lower share than in 92% of UK towns. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. Compared with 8.7% across England’s towns, one in ten residents give unpaid care here.
35% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
35% of Boxted’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have none (18%).
Around Boxted, 1 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boxted | 703 | — | 50.8 | 24% | 27% |
| Great Horkesley | 2,232 | 1.9 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 35% |
| West Bergholt | 3,175 | 3.3 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 28% |
| Ardleigh | 1,042 | 3.7 mi | 46.9 | 23% | 26% |
| Colchester | 130,259 | 4 mi | 35.9 | 15% | 31% |
| Eight Ash Green | 1,769 | 5.1 mi | 45.9 | 24% | 27% |
| East Bergholt | 2,211 | 5.2 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 25% |
| Elmstead Market | 1,767 | 5.8 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 25% |
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 Boxted’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 Boxted’s residents
What is the population of Boxted?
The 2021 Census counted 703 people in Boxted’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Boxted?
The median age was 50.8 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Boxted?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Boxted?
40% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 3.7% didn’t answer.
Is Boxted good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Boxted’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.