Burr Hall · Photo: MadeInBasildon · CC BY-SA 4.0One-person households make up 24% in Runwell, less than in 90% of UK towns
With households in terraced houses at 14%, Runwell is behind 78% of UK towns on that count. On married adults and civil partners, Runwell sits higher than 72% of UK towns: 52%. In 2021, the Census found 8,086 residents in the town, living in 3,237 households. Census figures put residents with no religion at 44% locally.
Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 86% of UK towns: 8.5%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 23%, against 18% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The largest age band is 30–34: 7.7% of residents. Half of Runwell’s residents are under 43.1, younger than in 61% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Runwell, 43.1. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Fewer full-time students than 83% of UK towns: 4.1%
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%.
Here nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, where the figure across England’s towns is 11%. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
Runwell households average 2.4 people, larger than in 84% of UK towns
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.
Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Runwell, 2.5%. Locally, 30% of households have dependent children.
Households without a car or van make up 12% in Runwell, less than in 68% 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
The share of households in flats is 8.3%, against 23% across England’s towns. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 35% here, more than in two thirds of UK towns. The usual figure: 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 53% of UK towns: 6.1%
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%). For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. 9.8% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns.
Runwell ranks below 64% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 90%
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: 90% of Runwell · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
48% of residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%). Measured more widely, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.9%), Mixed or multiple (2.5%) and African (1%).
Only 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Runwell
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: 198. Elsewhere, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. On unpaid carers, Runwell sits lower than 65% of UK towns: 8.8%.
Qualified to degree level: 22% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Runwell, 21%, while 22% hold one at degree level (34%).
Of 424 UK towns its size (6,000 to 11,000 people), the 142nd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 28.4 in Tidworth to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Runwell in age: Ampthill (43), Earls Barton (43.1), Holywell (43.1) and Baglan (43.1).
Of the 7 towns nearest Runwell, 4 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runwell | 8,086 | — | 43.1 | 23% | 30% |
| Wickford | 27,533 | 1 mi | 42.5 | 20% | 30% |
| Ramsden Heath | 1,949 | 2.3 mi | 46.5 | 22% | 33% |
| Crays Hill | 1,218 | 2.6 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 23% |
| North Benfleet | 1,765 | 3.6 mi | 50.8 | 25% | 25% |
| Hullbridge | 5,709 | 4 mi | 52.2 | 31% | 23% |
| South Woodham Ferrers | 16,029 | 4.1 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 29% |
| Basildon | 115,935 | 4.2 mi | 36.6 | 14% | 34% |
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 Runwell’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 Runwell’s residents
What is the population of Runwell?
The 2021 Census counted 8,086 people in Runwell’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Runwell?
The median age was 43.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 61% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Runwell?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 6.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Runwell?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Runwell good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Runwell’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.