Former King William IV Public House · Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0Families with children: 38% of households, more than in 97% of UK towns
23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, against 25% in Chigwell. The 2021 Census counted 12,251 residents in 4,288 households. On the census count, just over a third of residents describe themselves as Christian. Few places have as many married adults and civil partners: 54% here, more than in 85% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Chigwell’s people
More born abroad than most towns
29% of residents were born outside the UK, against 12% across Essex’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (13%) and in EU countries (7.9%). Where people were born ↓
A town of families
38% of Chigwell’s 4,288 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 97% of UK towns. 19% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A mix of backgrounds
57% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 98% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Indian (16%), Other White (12%) and Pakistani (7.6%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Chigwell at 10,800 in 2011 and 12,700 in 2024, up 17%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 81% 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.
From 2011 to 2024, Chigwell outgrew 81% of UK towns: +17%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Chigwell’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,800 people in 2011; 12,700 in 2024.
By age, the 30 to 44 group changed most (+33%) and the 16 to 29 group least (+4%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2022 to mid-2023, 270 people.
Chigwell is younger than 84% of UK towns: a median age of 39.3
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 17%, against 18% across England’s towns. Here, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Chigwell, 39.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
7.4% of adults are full-time students, more than in 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in two in five adults here, routine and semi-routine work 13% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Locally, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Only 19% of households in Chigwell are one person living alone
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.
There is little gap on shared households of unrelated adults: 4.5%, about the same as across England’s towns. Typically, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Chigwell ranks below 75% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 14%
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
Households without a car or van: 13% here and 24% across England’s towns. The share of households in detached houses stands at 35%.
29% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 97% 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 35%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns, 90% of residents have English as their main language; in Chigwell, 85%. As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (13%) and in EU countries (7.9%).
18% said they have no religion, fewer than in 99% 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: 43% of Chigwell · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Indian (16%), Other White (12%) and Pakistani (7.6%). The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Chigwell has fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 98% of UK towns, at 43%.
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 54% of UK towns: 32%
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, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Fewer unpaid carers than in four fifths of UK towns: 8.2%.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 42%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Chigwell, 16%, while 42% hold one at degree level (34%). Many of the 13% whose highest qualification is A levels are students working towards a degree.
38th youngest of 382 UK towns of 9,000 to 17,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Chigwell in age: Wombwell (39), Shirebrook (39.1), Chertsey (39.3) and Mexborough (39.4).
A younger town than 5 of the 7 around it: Chigwell
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chigwell | 12,251 | — | 39.3 | 17% | 38% |
| Chigwell Row | 2,115 | 1.6 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Buckhurst Hill | 11,749 | 2 mi | 41.8 | 18% | 31% |
| Redbridge | 309,509 | 2.4 mi | 36.1 | 12% | 41% |
| Loughton | 33,338 | 2.4 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 32% |
| Abridge | 1,651 | 3.1 mi | 45.8 | 24% | 26% |
| Theydon Bois | 3,540 | 4.2 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 28% |
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | 4.3 mi | 35.8 | 10% | 35% |
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 Chigwell’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. Chigwell’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 12,251 people in 2021, against 12,251 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 Chigwell’s residents
What is the population of Chigwell?
The 2021 Census counted 12,251 people in Chigwell’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,700 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Chigwell?
The median age was 39.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 84% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Chigwell?
43% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 29% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Chigwell?
18% said they had no religion and 35% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 13% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Chigwell good for families?
38% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Chigwell’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.