Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 10% of households have no car or van in Thaxted
Here 8.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across England’s towns is 12%. The 2021 Census counted 3,111 residents in 1,276 households. Households in detached houses: just over two fifths of the total. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are scarce here: 30%, fewer than in two thirds of UK towns.
In Thaxted, 24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 68% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With a median age of 45.3, Thaxted is older than 56% of UK towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The largest age band is 50–54: 7.2% of residents. In Frinton-on-Sea, the oldest of Essex’s towns by this measure, it is 46%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Thaxted, 45.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer full-time students than 86% of UK towns: 3.9%
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%.
By class, 38% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 19% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year: 8.7% of the total. Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns.
Thaxted sits below 72% of UK towns for one-person households (27%)
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.
Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. On average, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Households average 2.4 people. 29% of households have dependent children, more than in 67% of UK towns.
Households in flats: 7.2%, a lower share than 71% 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 terraced houses trails just over three fifths of UK towns: 17%. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
In Thaxted, 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 72% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%). Set beside that, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 17% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns.
Thaxted: 43% of residents said they have no religion, above 62% 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: 92% of Thaxted · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 92% of residents describe themselves as White British, where the figure across England’s towns is 73%. Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (3.8%), Mixed or multiple (2.1%) and Indian (0.8%).
Fewer unpaid carers than 87% of UK towns: 7.9%
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
54 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. The usual figure: 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; in Thaxted, 49%.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 32%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Thaxted, 32% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 18% have no qualification at all (18%).
Among 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people, the 184th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to Thaxted in age: Witton Gilbert (45.3), Blofield (45.3), Almondsbury (45.3) and Westerham (45.3).
3 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Thaxted
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thaxted | 3,111 | — | 45.3 | 24% | 29% |
| Great Bardfield | 1,372 | 4 mi | 49.6 | 25% | 24% |
| Henham | 1,046 | 4.6 mi | 48.1 | 22% | 31% |
| Stebbing | 1,061 | 4.7 mi | 48.7 | 25% | 30% |
| Great Dunmow | 10,395 | 5.7 mi | 43.2 | 21% | 28% |
| Elsenham | 3,414 | 5.8 mi | 38.6 | 16% | 36% |
| Newport | 2,945 | 6.1 mi | 43.9 | 22% | 32% |
| Saffron Walden | 16,609 | 6.2 mi | 43.8 | 21% | 29% |
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 Thaxted’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 Thaxted’s residents
What is the population of Thaxted?
The 2021 Census counted 3,111 people in Thaxted’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Thaxted?
The median age was 45.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 56% of UK towns. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thaxted?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thaxted?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Thaxted good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thaxted’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.