Photo: Hamish Griffin · CC BY-SA 2.0Fordham sits below 99% of UK towns for households in flats (0.3%)
The figure for one-person households is 19% in Fordham and 30% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Fordham was home to 841 people in 327 households. Locally, 9.1% of households live in a terraced house. Adults who have never married are rarer here than in 91% of UK towns.
A median age of 49.1: Fordham is older than 80% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Compared with 12% across England’s towns, 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24 here. What’s more, residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 73% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
Only 4.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Fordham
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Fordham has 38% and 16%. In Fordham, 5.4% of adults are full-time students. Set beside that, just over one in ten 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.
Bigger households than 94% of UK towns: 2.6 people each 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.
Households with dependent children: 29%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. The census found that 2.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Fordham.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 98% of UK towns, at 5.5%
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 detached houses at 36%, Fordham is ahead of 68% of UK towns on that count. The comparison figure for households without a car or van is 24% across England’s towns.
99% of residents have English as their main language, a share 91% of UK towns don’t reach
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
18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns, against 4.1% in Fordham. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in Africa (1%). Elsewhere, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
95% of residents describe themselves as White British, a share 81% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 95% of Fordham · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
53% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (1.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and African (1.1%).
More married adults and civil partners than 96% of UK towns: 59%
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 giving 50 hours or more a week: 23. At 10%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in 71% of UK towns. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 32% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Fordham counts 32% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 16% have no qualification (18%).
The towns around Fordham are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fordham | 841 | — | 49.1 | 25% | 29% |
| Eight Ash Green | 1,769 | 1.5 mi | 45.9 | 24% | 27% |
| West Bergholt | 3,175 | 2.2 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 28% |
| Copford | 1,794 | 2.9 mi | 44.8 | 22% | 27% |
| Great Horkesley | 2,232 | 3.2 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 35% |
| Marks Tey | 1,817 | 3.4 mi | 48.3 | 24% | 28% |
| Bures | 1,183 | 3.8 mi | 48.4 | 27% | 25% |
| Earls Colne | 3,360 | 4.6 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 30% |
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 Fordham’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 Fordham’s residents
What is the population of Fordham?
The 2021 Census counted 841 people in Fordham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Fordham?
The median age was 49.1 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Fordham?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Fordham?
41% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Fordham good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Fordham’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.