Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0Shared households of unrelated adults make up 0.3% in Dedham, less than in 99% of UK towns
One-person households make up 39%, against 30% across England’s towns. Dedham is home to 812 residents in 390 households, by the 2021 Census. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 28%. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as Christian: 56% here, more than in 86% of UK towns.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 88% of UK towns: 8.3%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The median age in Dedham is 48.8, higher than in nearly four fifths of UK towns. Typically, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 8.9% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 7.6% in Dedham, less than in 74% 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 18% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Elsewhere, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. The census found that 5.2% of adults are full-time students in Dedham.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 90% 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.
Across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 29%; Dedham has 25%.
20% of households live in a flat, more than in 83% 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
With households without a car or van at 12%, Dedham is behind just over two thirds of UK towns on that count. As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. The census found that 15% of households live in a terraced house in the village. Households in detached houses are rarer here than in 53% of UK towns.
In Dedham, 98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 55% 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
The share of residents born outside the UK is 6%, against 18% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%).
Fewer residents with no religion than 65% of UK towns: 39%
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: 91% of Dedham · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 73% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British in Dedham comes in at 91%. Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (3.2%), Mixed or multiple (2.7%) and African (0.9%).
Dedham ranks below 78% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 28%
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
Married adults and civil partners: 46% here and 44% across England’s towns. On unpaid carers, Dedham sits lower than 84% of UK towns: 8%. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 17 people.
35% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 35% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 20% hold no qualification (18%).
Dedham is younger than 3 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dedham | 812 | — | 48.8 | 28% | 25% |
| East Bergholt | 2,211 | 1.8 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 25% |
| Ardleigh | 1,042 | 2.1 mi | 46.9 | 23% | 26% |
| Lawford | 4,488 | 2.5 mi | 43.6 | 21% | 29% |
| Brantham | 2,081 | 2.9 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 28% |
| Manningtree | 1,676 | 2.9 mi | 53.7 | 34% | 15% |
| Capel St Mary | 2,992 | 3.9 mi | 50.7 | 31% | 25% |
| Mistley | 1,827 | 4 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 22% |
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 Dedham’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 Dedham’s residents
What is the population of Dedham?
The 2021 Census counted 812 people in Dedham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Dedham?
The median age was 48.8 at the 2021 Census. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dedham?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dedham?
39% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 4.3% didn’t answer.
Is Dedham good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Dedham’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.