Photo: Poliphilo · CC0In Felsted, 20% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 98% of UK towns
Set against 8.7% across England’s towns, 6.3% of residents give unpaid care in Felsted. Households in detached houses are more common here than in 87% of UK towns. The village counted 1,233 residents and 422 households at the 2021 Census. Across Felsted, 14% of households live in a terraced house.
What the Census says about Felsted’s people
A student village
The 2021 Census counted 177 full-time students aged 16 and over, 18% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 20% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
A village people move to
15% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns, and 1.4% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 69% of UK towns: 24%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 15–19: 17% of residents, 3 times the share across England’s towns. Half of Felsted’s residents are under 43.7, younger than in 56% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
More students than 99% of UK towns: 18% of adults in Felsted
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%.
Here 15% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, where the figure across England’s towns is 11%. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children: 26%, a lower share than 66% 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, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Felsted, 2.1%. By way of comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Households average 2.2 people. On one-person households, Felsted sits higher than 70% of UK towns: 32%.
Below 82% of UK towns: 10% of households have no car or van
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
By its share of households in flats (7.1%), Felsted is below 72% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%.
A larger share of residents born outside the UK than 86% of UK towns: 15%
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns, nine in ten residents have English as their main language; in Felsted, 94%. Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (6.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (3.7%).
Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 76% of UK towns: 86%
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: 86% of Felsted · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 52%, against 46% across England’s towns. Lower than in 73% of UK towns: 37% of residents said they have no religion. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (7.5%), Chinese (1.6%) and Mixed or multiple (1.3%).
Below 62% of UK towns: 46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
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
Compared with 39% across England’s towns, just over a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. The wider picture: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. For 20 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 35%
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 17% hold no qualification (18%). A levels top the qualifications of 13%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
Older than Felsted: 3 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felsted | 1,233 | — | 43.7 | 24% | 26% |
| Little Dunmow | 2,644 | 1 mi | 32.2 | 5.5% | 57% |
| Stebbing | 1,061 | 3 mi | 48.7 | 25% | 30% |
| Rayne | 2,169 | 3.2 mi | 44.8 | 21% | 29% |
| Great Dunmow | 10,395 | 3.4 mi | 43.2 | 21% | 28% |
| Great Leighs | 2,968 | 3.7 mi | 38.9 | 15% | 40% |
| Great Notley | 7,659 | 4 mi | 41.6 | 16% | 38% |
| Little Waltham | 1,038 | 5.1 mi | 50.4 | 27% | 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 Felsted’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 Felsted’s residents
What is the population of Felsted?
The 2021 Census counted 1,233 people in Felsted’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Felsted?
The median age was 43.7 at the 2021 Census. 20% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
Is Felsted a student village?
Yes: 18% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (177 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Felsted?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 15% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Felsted?
37% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 7.7% didn’t answer.
Is Felsted good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Felsted’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.