Photo: Terryjoyce · CC BY-SA 3.0Households with dependent children make up 38% in Canewdon, more than in 96% of UK towns
Where 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, Canewdon has 20%. At the 2021 Census Canewdon was home to 1,216 people in 469 households. The census found that 6.4% of households have no car or van in the village. Few places have so few households in flats: 2.8% here, fewer than in 94% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Canewdon’s people
A village of families
38% of Canewdon’s 469 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 96% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
More with no religion than most
52% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 40% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Canewdon’s residents are under 37.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 17% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Half of Canewdon is under 37.8, younger than 90% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Compared with 18% across England’s towns, 17% of residents are 65 or over here. Locally, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
6.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 93% 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 share of full-time students tops 88% of UK towns: 6.5%. Typically, 11% of 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.
Canewdon households average 2.6 people, larger than in 96% 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.
1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%.
Households in terraced houses make up 29% in Canewdon, more than in 81% 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
33% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 2.6% in Canewdon, less than in 95% 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
100% of residents have English as their main language, against 90% across England’s towns. The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (0.9%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.7%).
A higher share of residents with no religion than 96% of UK towns, at 52%
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 Canewdon · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British tops 69% of UK towns: 94%. As a reference point, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Across Canewdon, 40% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
More married adults and civil partners than 60% of UK towns: 50%
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 carers make up 8.5%, close to the figure across England’s towns. The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%. Across Canewdon, 32% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 24%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Canewdon, 24% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 18% have no qualification at all (18%). A levels are the highest qualification of 20%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
No nearby town is as young as Canewdon
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canewdon | 1,216 | — | 37.8 | 17% | 38% |
| Ashingdon | 6,490 | 2.5 mi | 49.6 | 26% | 26% |
| Rochford | 12,617 | 2.8 mi | 40.8 | 19% | 28% |
| Burnham-on-Crouch | 7,806 | 3.3 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 23% |
| Latchingdon | 1,140 | 3.7 mi | 41.6 | 15% | 35% |
| Hockley and Hawkwell | 15,430 | 3.8 mi | 47 | 24% | 28% |
| Mayland | 3,740 | 4.7 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 26% |
| Cold Norton | 1,161 | 4.8 mi | 51 | 24% | 27% |
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 Canewdon’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 Canewdon’s residents
What is the population of Canewdon?
The 2021 Census counted 1,216 people in Canewdon’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Canewdon?
The median age was 37.8 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Canewdon?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 2.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Canewdon?
52% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Canewdon good for families?
38% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Canewdon’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.