Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0A smaller share of one-person households than 97% of UK towns: 20%
Here 6.5% of households have no car or van, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. At the 2021 Census, 2,169 people lived in Rayne, in 859 households. Married adults and civil partners: 58% of the total. Few places have so few households in flats: 5.4% here, fewer than in 81% of UK towns.
In Rayne, 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 72% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.2% of residents. Measured more widely, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The median age in Rayne is 44.8, higher than in 52% of UK towns. In Frinton-on-Sea, the oldest of Essex’s towns by this measure, it is 46%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Rayne
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%.
Full-time students: 5.1% here and 7.9% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 11% 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 91% of UK towns: 2.5 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.
At 29%, households with dependent children sit close to the figure across England’s towns. In Rayne, 2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
In Rayne, 17% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 65% 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
Just over a third of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Typically, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Rayne: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 78% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.4%) and in Africa (1.4%). The usual figure: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Born outside the UK: 5.5% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion: 42%, a higher share than 56% 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 Rayne · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (1.3%). Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion. Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, Rayne has 93%.
27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 84% 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
58 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. The usual figure: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 9.2%.
27% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
27% of Rayne’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have none (18%).
Every neighbour of Rayne has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rayne | 2,169 | — | 44.8 | 21% | 29% |
| Great Notley | 7,659 | 1.4 mi | 41.6 | 16% | 38% |
| Braintree | 43,179 | 2.2 mi | 40 | 18% | 30% |
| Black Notley | 1,932 | 3 mi | 42.5 | 17% | 35% |
| Felsted | 1,233 | 3.2 mi | 43.7 | 24% | 26% |
| Great Leighs | 2,968 | 3.3 mi | 38.9 | 15% | 40% |
| Tye Green | 1,415 | 3.5 mi | 43.1 | 23% | 26% |
| Little Dunmow | 2,644 | 4.1 mi | 32.2 | 5.5% | 57% |
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 Rayne’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 Rayne’s residents
What is the population of Rayne?
The 2021 Census counted 2,169 people in Rayne’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Rayne?
The median age was 44.8 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rayne?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 5.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Rayne?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Rayne good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Rayne’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.