Photo: Unknown author · Public domainFewer families than 98% of UK towns: 17% of households have children
The median age in Moreton is 51.2, higher than in 90% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 433 residents and 193 households locally. 2.6% of households live in a flat or apartment. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%; Moreton has 57%.
Moreton: 24% of residents are 65 or over, above 67% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: just over one in ten residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. On the census count, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. Elsewhere, 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.
Full-time students: 3.1%, a lower share than 98% 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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Moreton has 33% and 21%. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. 7.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Above 98% of UK towns: 7.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home
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.
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The wider picture: 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. Here, just over a third of households are one person living alone.
7.8% of households live in a terraced house, below 94% 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
Here 12% of households have no car or van, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. Higher than in 76% of UK towns: 40% of households live in a detached house.
4.9% born outside the UK, fewer than in 66% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (3.5%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 98% of residents have English as their main language, against 90% across England’s towns.
In Moreton, 36% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 76% 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: 93% of Moreton · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (5.3%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Caribbean (0.7%). For residents with no religion, the comparison across England’s towns is 37%. Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 93%, against 73% across England’s towns.
Fewer married adults and civil partners than 81% of UK towns: 43%
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
The figure for adults who have never married is 38% in Moreton and 39% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Some 18 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 22%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Moreton’s adults: 22% with a degree-level qualification and 25% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
No nearby town is as old as Moreton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moreton | 433 | — | 51.2 | 24% | 17% |
| Shelley | 2,405 | 2 mi | 39.3 | 17% | 37% |
| North Weald Bassett | 4,323 | 2.6 mi | 45.4 | 23% | 28% |
| Chipping Ongar | 3,922 | 2.8 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 27% |
| Thornwood Common | 1,030 | 4.1 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 26% |
| Coopersale | 1,067 | 4.4 mi | 43 | 18% | 32% |
| Harlow | 93,570 | 5 mi | 37.2 | 15% | 34% |
| Hatfield Heath | 1,789 | 5.1 mi | 46.4 | 26% | 32% |
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 Moreton’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 Moreton’s residents
What is the population of Moreton?
The 2021 Census counted 433 people in Moreton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Moreton?
The median age was 51.2 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Moreton?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Moreton?
36% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Moreton good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Moreton’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.