Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Stock is over 56.5, older than 98% of UK towns
The share of households in detached houses is 52%, against 21% across England’s towns. Lower than in 99% of UK towns: 20% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. There were 732 households in Stock at the 2021 Census, home to 1,573 residents. The census found that 30% of residents said they have no religion locally.
What the Census says about Stock’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Stock’s residents are under 56.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 36% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
36% of residents are 65 or over, a share 97% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: 8.7% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. For Stock, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 7.2%.
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.
3.9% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 87% of UK towns
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%.
Compared with 11% across England’s towns, 7.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier here. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Below 92% of UK towns: 21% of households have dependent children
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.
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The census found that 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Stock. Households with dependent children make up 29% across England’s towns.
Households in terraced houses make up 14% in Stock, less than in 78% 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
Across England’s towns, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment; in Stock, 12%. By way of comparison, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. Households without a car or van account for 13%.
Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 88% 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 its share of residents born outside the UK (4.4%), Stock is below 73% of UK towns. To put it in context, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.7%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%).
63% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 97% 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: 95% of Stock · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who describe themselves as White British at 95%, Stock is ahead of 76% of UK towns on that count. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (0.3%). As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
59% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 97% 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
For Stock, the census puts unpaid carers at 9.6%. 20% of the village’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 59% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Stock’s adults: 33% with a degree-level qualification and 17% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
The towns around Stock are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | 1,573 | — | 56.5 | 36% | 21% |
| Ramsden Heath | 1,949 | 2.3 mi | 46.5 | 22% | 33% |
| Galleywood | 6,410 | 2.6 mi | 47.2 | 26% | 25% |
| Billericay | 34,068 | 2.6 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 30% |
| Ingatestone | 5,411 | 3 mi | 45.8 | 24% | 27% |
| Runwell | 8,086 | 4.3 mi | 43.1 | 23% | 30% |
| Crays Hill | 1,218 | 4.5 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 23% |
| Writtle | 4,703 | 4.6 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 22% |
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 Stock’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 Stock’s residents
What is the population of Stock?
The 2021 Census counted 1,573 people in Stock’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Stock?
The median age was 56.5 at the 2021 Census. 7.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 36% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Stock?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Stock?
30% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Stock good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Stock’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.