Photo: Nigel Cox · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 1% of households live in a flat or apartment in Sheering
Here 33% of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. The 2021 Census put Sheering’s population at 960, in 377 households. 55% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Fewer one-person households than in just over four fifths of UK towns: 26%.
Only 9.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Sheering
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in 72% of UK towns: 19%. Measured more widely, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
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.
Above 76% of UK towns: 5.5% of adults are full-time students
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 7.8%, against 11% across England’s towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 92% 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.
Families with dependent children are 31% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 14% are someone 66 or over living alone (Essex’s towns 14%). The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 2.4%.
11% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 79% 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
Compared with 21% across England’s towns, 32% of households live in a detached house here. Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%.
Above 84% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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
The figure for residents born outside the UK is 5.3% in Sheering and 18% across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.1%) and in Africa (1.3%). The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%.
Residents with no religion: 43%, a higher share than 67% 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 Sheering · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
93% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Residents with no religion make up 37% across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and Indian (1%).
A lower share of adults who have never married than 68% of UK towns, at 30%
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
Some 24 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Few places have so few unpaid carers: 7.7% here, fewer than in 90% of UK towns. Set beside that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
28% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Sheering, 28% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 16% have no qualification at all (18%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Sheering
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheering | 960 | — | 44.6 | 19% | 31% |
| Hatfield Heath | 1,789 | 1.3 mi | 46.4 | 26% | 32% |
| Sawbridgeworth | 10,471 | 1.5 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Little Hallingbury | 1,434 | 2.3 mi | 47.1 | 22% | 34% |
| Harlow | 93,570 | 4.2 mi | 37.2 | 15% | 34% |
| Bishop's Stortford | 40,916 | 4.4 mi | 40.2 | 15% | 33% |
| Hadham Cross | 1,275 | 5.5 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 29% |
| North Weald Bassett | 4,323 | 6 mi | 45.4 | 23% | 28% |
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 Sheering’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 Sheering’s residents
What is the population of Sheering?
The 2021 Census counted 960 people in Sheering’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sheering?
The median age was 44.6 at the 2021 Census. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sheering?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 5.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sheering?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Sheering good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sheering’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.