Photo: Peter Stack · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Weeley is over 52, older than 92% of UK towns
Here just over a fifth of households have dependent children, where the figure across England’s towns is 29%. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 6%. At 27%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in 83% of UK towns. Weeley is home to 1,285 residents in 567 households, by the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Weeley’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Weeley’s residents are under 52 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
144 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Weeley: 31% of residents are 65 or over, above 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 8.5%, against 12% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 90% of UK towns: 3.8%
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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Weeley comes in at 12%. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
A larger share of shared households of unrelated adults than 87% of UK towns: 3.5%
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.
Households in Weeley hold 2.3 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). In Weeley, 31% of households are one person living alone. Measured more widely, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
A larger share of households in detached houses than 69% of UK towns: 37%
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
14% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Set beside that, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. The census found that 11% of households live in a flat or apartment in Weeley.
In Weeley, 4.6% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 69% 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 (2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%). The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. 98% of residents have English as their main language, against 90% across England’s towns.
Weeley ranks above 65% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 52%
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: 94% of Weeley · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (3.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and Indian (0.4%). More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 62% of UK towns: 94%. The usual figure: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. The share of residents with no religion is 42%, against 37% across England’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 95% of UK towns: 12% of residents
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
47 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Set beside that, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners: 48% here and 44% across England’s towns.
Among adults, 18% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Weeley counts 18% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 30% have no qualification (18%).
Around Weeley, 4 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeley | 1,285 | — | 52 | 31% | 22% |
| Little Clacton | 2,458 | 2.1 mi | 54 | 33% | 22% |
| Great Bentley | 1,746 | 2.2 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 25% |
| Thorpe-le-Soken | 1,590 | 2.2 mi | 46.8 | 24% | 27% |
| Thorrington | 1,427 | 3.6 mi | 52.1 | 31% | 25% |
| St Osyth | 2,249 | 4.2 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 20% |
| Clacton-on-Sea | 53,190 | 4.2 mi | 50.4 | 30% | 22% |
| Kirby-le-Soken | 1,207 | 4.8 mi | 56.9 | 37% | 18% |
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 Weeley’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 Weeley’s residents
What is the population of Weeley?
The 2021 Census counted 1,285 people in Weeley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Weeley?
The median age was 52 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Weeley?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 4.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Weeley?
42% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Weeley good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Weeley’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.