Photo: Terryjoyce · CC BY-SA 3.0St Osyth is older than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 53.5
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in St Osyth, 20%. The 2021 Census counted 2,249 residents in 1,045 households. For St Osyth, the census puts one-person households at 37%. Compared with other places, households in terraced houses are scarce here: 8.8%, fewer than in 92% of UK towns.
What the Census says about St Osyth’s people
Older than most towns
Half of St Osyth’s residents are under 53.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 33% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
267 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 99% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
St Osyth: 33% of residents are 65 or over, above 94% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 9.1%, against 12% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Fewer full-time students than 74% of UK towns: 4.3%
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%.
In St Osyth, 7.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across England’s towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
St Osyth households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 86% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.6%, above 62% of UK towns.
17% of households have no car or van, more than in 60% 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
Against a figure of 21% across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in St Osyth comes in at 30%. Few places have so few households in flats: 9.3% here, fewer than in 58% of UK towns. For households without a car or van, the comparison across England’s towns is 24%.
In St Osyth, 3% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 91% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.2%) and in Africa (1%). Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English are more common here than in 75% of UK towns.
A higher White British share than 77% of UK towns: 95% of residents
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: 95% of St Osyth · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, against 39% in St Osyth. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 73% across England’s towns, for comparison. On the census count, 54% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
12% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 99% 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
125 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. To put it in context, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Adults who have never married are rarer here than in 73% of UK towns. Add to that, by its share of married adults and civil partners (47%), St Osyth is below 55% of UK towns.
Among adults, 16% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
16% of St Osyth’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 31% have none (18%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than St Osyth
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Osyth | 2,249 | — | 53.5 | 33% | 20% |
| Point Clear | 1,707 | 1.9 mi | 55.6 | 34% | 17% |
| Jaywick | 5,080 | 2 mi | 58 | 38% | 13% |
| Brightlingsea | 8,678 | 2.5 mi | 49.9 | 28% | 24% |
| Clacton-on-Sea | 53,190 | 3.1 mi | 50.4 | 30% | 22% |
| Little Clacton | 2,458 | 3.2 mi | 54 | 33% | 22% |
| Thorrington | 1,427 | 3.3 mi | 52.1 | 31% | 25% |
| Great Bentley | 1,746 | 3.8 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 25% |
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 St Osyth’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 St Osyth’s residents
What is the population of St Osyth?
The 2021 Census counted 2,249 people in St Osyth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in St Osyth?
The median age was 53.5 at the 2021 Census. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is St Osyth?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in St Osyth?
39% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is St Osyth good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on St Osyth’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.