Photo: Peter Trimming · CC BY-SA 2.0High Beech is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 63
In High Beech the average household is 1.8 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. On the census count, nearly one in ten households have dependent children. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as Christian: 65% here, more than in 98% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census High Beech was home to 186 people in 105 households.
46% of residents are 65 or over, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, against 5.4% in High Beech. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
A smaller share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 1.7%
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; High Beech has 27% and 23%. In High Beech, 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns.
A higher share of one-person households than 99% of UK towns, at 50%
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.9% here and 4.3% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Households in terraced houses make up 2.8% in High Beech, less than in 99% 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; across England’s towns the figure is 21%. On the census count, 13% of households have no car or van. Households in flats are rarer here than in 94% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, households in terraced houses come to 24%.
Fewer residents whose main language is English than 58% of UK towns: 97%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (4.9%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.1%). 6% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 54% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%.
A lower share of residents with no religion than 95% of UK towns, at 29%
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: 87% of High Beech · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (6.5%), Caribbean (2.2%) and Pakistani (1.6%). Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are scarce here: 87%, fewer than in 75% of UK towns.
24% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 95% of UK towns
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
Here 11% of residents give unpaid care, where the figure across England’s towns is 8.7%. Fewer married adults and civil partners than in 79% of UK towns: 43%. Typically, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 8.
Degree-level qualifications: 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 23% of adults in High Beech, 34% across England’s towns; 34% have no qualification, against 18%.
Every nearby town is younger than High Beech
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Beech | 186 | — | 63 | 46% | 8.6% |
| Loughton | 33,338 | 2.1 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 32% |
| Waltham Abbey | 18,645 | 2.1 mi | 40.6 | 18% | 31% |
| Buckhurst Hill | 11,749 | 2.2 mi | 41.8 | 18% | 31% |
| Waltham Cross | 11,936 | 3.1 mi | 36.4 | 13% | 33% |
| Theydon Bois | 3,540 | 3.5 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 28% |
| Chigwell | 12,251 | 3.9 mi | 39.3 | 17% | 38% |
| Abridge | 1,651 | 4.2 mi | 45.8 | 24% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 High Beech’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 High Beech’s residents
What is the population of High Beech?
The 2021 Census counted 186 people in High Beech’s built-up area.
What is the average age in High Beech?
The median age was 63 at the 2021 Census. 5.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 46% were 65 or over.
How diverse is High Beech?
87% 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 High Beech?
29% said they had no religion and 65% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.1% were Muslim and 3.7% didn’t answer.
Is High Beech good for families?
8.6% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on High Beech’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.