Photo: Peter S · CC BY-SA 2.0A village of detached houses: 78% of households live in one
With shared households of unrelated adults at 7%, Roydon Hamlet is ahead of 98% of UK towns on that count. Census figures put households in terraced houses at 3.8% locally. Few places have so few one-person households: 17% here, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. The village had 436 residents and 157 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 46.2.
Older than 63% of UK towns: half of Roydon Hamlet is over 46.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
In Roydon Hamlet, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, beside 12% across England’s towns. Across Roydon Hamlet, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Roydon Hamlet sits below 93% of UK towns for full-time students (3.6%)
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%.
There is little gap on residents who moved in within the year: 11%, about the same as across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
Bigger households than 99% of UK towns: 2.8 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 are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 29%.
Fewer car-free households than 91% of UK towns: 8.3%
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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 5.7% of households live in a flat or apartment in Roydon Hamlet. On average, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English make up 92% in Roydon Hamlet, less than in 89% 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
Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK; in Roydon Hamlet, 17%. Set beside that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (11%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%).
Fewer residents with no religion than 92% of UK towns: 31%
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: 78% of Roydon Hamlet · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Muslims make up 2.8% of residents. Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than in 86% of UK towns: 78%. Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 58%, against 46% across England’s towns.
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 93% of UK towns, at 57%
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
In Roydon Hamlet, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns. Few places have so few adults who have never married: 30% here, fewer than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 24% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 24% of adults in Roydon Hamlet, 34% across England’s towns; 24% have no qualification, against 18%.
Roydon Hamlet sits below 4 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roydon Hamlet | 436 | — | 46.2 | 21% | 29% |
| Roydon | 1,587 | 1.2 mi | 48.3 | 22% | 25% |
| Lower Nazeing | 3,631 | 1.8 mi | 49.3 | 25% | 25% |
| Hoddesdon | 40,615 | 2.7 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 33% |
| Harlow | 93,570 | 2.8 mi | 37.2 | 15% | 34% |
| Stanstead Abbotts | 3,754 | 3.1 mi | 44.4 | 20% | 25% |
| Thornwood Common | 1,030 | 4.2 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 26% |
| Great Amwell | 1,017 | 4.2 mi | 50.5 | 23% | 29% |
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 Roydon Hamlet’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 Roydon Hamlet’s residents
What is the population of Roydon Hamlet?
The 2021 Census counted 436 people in Roydon Hamlet’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Roydon Hamlet?
The median age was 46.2 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Roydon Hamlet?
78% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 17% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Roydon Hamlet?
31% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.8% were Muslim and 3.7% didn’t answer.
Is Roydon Hamlet good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Roydon Hamlet’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.