Photo: Christopher Hilton · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 38.9: Witham is younger than 86% of UK towns
Here 13% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. Across Witham, 38% of households live in a terraced house. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as White British: 87% here, fewer than in 73% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 27,395, in 11,678 households.
What the Census says about Witham’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Witham’s residents are under 38.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 10% are 15 to 24 and 18% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More with no religion than most
47% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 44% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Faster growth than 62% of UK towns: Witham changed by +10% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Witham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 25,400 people in 2011; 28,100 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+30%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−10%). Mid-2023 to mid-2024 brought the biggest yearly rise, 580 people.
10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 66% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 8% of residents. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in 80% of UK towns: 18%. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 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+
■ Witham, 38.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 4.4%, a lower share than 67% 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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Witham has 9.9%. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.3 people per household, more than in 64% 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.
The figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 2.9% in Witham and 4.3% across England’s towns. 30% of households have dependent children.
Witham: 20% of households live in a flat or apartment, above 83% 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
Nearly a fifth of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%.
Witham: 8.8% of residents born outside the UK
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
Residents whose main language is English: 96% here and 90% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.8%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion: 47%, a higher share than 86% 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: 87% of Witham · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 44% in Witham and 46% across England’s towns. Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (4.7%), Mixed or multiple (2.6%) and African (1.3%). By way of comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
More adults who have never married than 83% of UK towns: 38%
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
Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Witham comes in at 43%. In Witham, 8.2% of residents give unpaid care. For comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
25% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 25% of adults in Witham (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 20% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 37 in West Witham to 41 in North Witham
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.
North Witham is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; West Witham the youngest (median age 37). Families with children are most common in West Witham (35% of households).
256 UK towns of 19,000 to 37,000 people: this is the 33rd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.1 in Egham to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Witham in age: Radcliffe (38.9), Daventry (38.9), Shipley (39) and Irlam (39).
The towns around Witham are all older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Witham | 27,395 | — | 38.9 | 18% | 30% |
| Wickham Bishops | 1,923 | 2.3 mi | 53.4 | 33% | 25% |
| Hatfield Peverel | 3,622 | 2.3 mi | 48.5 | 25% | 24% |
| Great Totham | 2,773 | 3 mi | 48.8 | 27% | 29% |
| Silver End | 3,913 | 3.4 mi | 39.7 | 18% | 33% |
| Kelvedon and Feering | 4,771 | 4.1 mi | 46.1 | 23% | 28% |
| Tye Green | 1,415 | 4.4 mi | 43.1 | 23% | 26% |
| Black Notley | 1,932 | 4.5 mi | 42.5 | 17% | 35% |
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 Witham’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. Witham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 27,036 people in 2021, against 27,395 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 Witham’s residents
What is the population of Witham?
The 2021 Census counted 27,395 people in Witham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 28,100 people in mid-2024, 10% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Witham?
The median age was 38.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 86% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Witham?
87% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 8.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Witham?
47% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Witham good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in West Witham (35% of households). Schools are on Witham’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.