Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0Steeple sits below 98% of UK towns for households without a car or van (5.3%)
Compared with 8.7% across England’s towns, 13% of residents give unpaid care here. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 9.2%. On residents with no religion, Steeple sits higher than 95% of UK towns: 51%. At the 2021 Census Steeple was home to 486 people in 208 households.
Half of Steeple is over 48.9, older than 79% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 65 and over at 22% in Steeple.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 93% of UK towns: 6.4%
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%.
Where 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, Steeple has 4.6%. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 11% across England’s towns.
Fewer family households than 72% of UK towns: 25% in Steeple
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.
In Steeple the average household is 2.4 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. On average, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Locally, 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
A higher share of households in detached houses than 85% of UK towns, at 45%
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
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment; in Steeple, 8.7%. To put it in context, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Steeple sits below 90% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (3.1%)
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.4%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%). The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Higher than in 99% of UK towns: 100% of residents have English as their main language.
Below 90% of UK towns: 41% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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: 96% of Steeple · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Mixed or multiple (1.9%), Other White (1.4%) and African (0.4%). The wider picture: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 96% here, more than in 84% of UK towns.
In Steeple, 27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 85% 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
Some 14 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. On average, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 51%, more than in just over two thirds of UK towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 23% of its adults qualified to degree level, Steeple compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 22% hold no qualification (18%).
Steeple is younger than 1 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steeple | 486 | — | 48.9 | 22% | 25% |
| Mayland | 3,740 | 1.8 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 26% |
| Ramsey Island | 1,139 | 2 mi | 51.6 | 29% | 24% |
| Southminster | 4,548 | 2.3 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 29% |
| Latchingdon | 1,140 | 3.6 mi | 41.6 | 15% | 35% |
| Burnham-on-Crouch | 7,806 | 4.3 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 23% |
| Tollesbury | 2,811 | 4.9 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 27% |
| Maldon | 23,389 | 5.7 mi | 46.2 | 24% | 26% |
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 Steeple’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 Steeple’s residents
What is the population of Steeple?
The 2021 Census counted 486 people in Steeple’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Steeple?
The median age was 48.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Steeple?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 3.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Steeple?
51% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Steeple good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Steeple’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.