34, London Road · Photo: RobertP4591 · CC BY-SA 4.02.4 people per household, more than in 78% of UK towns
Half of Wickford’s residents are under 42.5, younger than in 66% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Wickford was home to 27,533 people in 11,430 households. Households in terraced houses account for 16%. Set against 30% across England’s towns, 27% of households are one person living alone here.
A change of +7% since 2011 leaves Wickford behind 53% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wickford’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 26,300 people in 2011; 28,000 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+24%) and the 30 to 44 group least (−4%). In one year, mid-2012 to mid-2013, the population rose by 390, the most of any year.
20% of residents are 65 or over, below 66% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 50–54: 7.4% of residents. Wickford has more residents aged 15 to 24 than 64% of UK towns, at 10%. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Frinton-on-Sea, the oldest of Essex’s towns by this measure, it is 46%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wickford, 42.5. 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.
Wickford ranks below 76% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 7.5%
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 Wickford, just over a third of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. On the census count, 4.5% of adults are full-time students.
In Wickford, 30% of households have dependent children, more than in 75% 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.
Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 2.4% in Wickford. Elsewhere, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Households without a car or van make up 12% in Wickford, less than in 69% 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
Where 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Wickford has 13%. Census figures put households in detached houses at 29% locally. Every 8th household or so has no car or van.
Residents whose main language is English: 98%, a higher share than 60% 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 (2.2%) and in Africa (1.4%). Across the comparison, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Where 21% of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 10%.
Residents with no religion make up 45% in Wickford, more than in 75% 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: 91% of Wickford · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Christians make up 48% of residents, against 46% across England’s towns. Wickford has fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 60% of UK towns, at 91%. On average, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (2.8%), Mixed or multiple (2.1%) and African (1.3%).
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 55% of UK towns: 49%
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
Nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 33% in Wickford. The share of unpaid carers stands at 9.1%. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
23% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 23% of adults in Wickford (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 19% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 37 in Wickford South to 50 in Wickford West
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Wickford West is the oldest area, with 28% aged 65 or over; Wickford South the youngest (median age 37). Families with children are most common in Wickford Shotgate (34% of households).
Ranked by age, 124th youngest of 256 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Egham (31.1) and the oldest Rustington (56.2). Nearest to Wickford in age: Sutton in Ashfield (42.5), Heanor (42.5), Tiverton (42.5) and Bedworth (42.6).
A younger town than 6 of the 7 around it: Wickford
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wickford | 27,533 | — | 42.5 | 20% | 30% |
| Runwell | 8,086 | 1 mi | 43.1 | 23% | 30% |
| Crays Hill | 1,218 | 2.5 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 23% |
| North Benfleet | 1,765 | 2.6 mi | 50.8 | 25% | 25% |
| Ramsden Heath | 1,949 | 3 mi | 46.5 | 22% | 33% |
| Basildon | 115,935 | 3.7 mi | 36.6 | 14% | 34% |
| Rayleigh | 32,383 | 3.7 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 29% |
| Thundersley and South Benfleet | 49,886 | 3.7 mi | 46.7 | 25% | 27% |
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 Wickford’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Wickford’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 27,387 people in 2021, against 27,533 in the built-up area.
- 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 Wickford’s residents
What is the population of Wickford?
The 2021 Census counted 27,533 people in Wickford’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 28,000 people in mid-2024, 7% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wickford?
The median age was 42.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 66% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wickford?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 6.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wickford?
45% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 4.8% didn’t answer.
Is Wickford good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Wickford Shotgate (34% of households). Schools are on Wickford’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.