Photo: Rwendland · CC BY-SA 3.0Above 84% of UK towns: 47% of residents said they have no religion
In Wivenhoe, 7.4% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. 25% of residents are 65 or over, a higher share than in 74% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 7,354 residents in 3,279 households. Here, just over half of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Wivenhoe is older than 69% of UK towns: a median age of 47.1
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
70–74 is the most common age band: 7.6% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. For Wivenhoe, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 10%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wivenhoe, 47.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Full-time students: 7.8%, a higher share than 93% 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%.
By class, 44% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 17% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). In Wivenhoe, one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Wivenhoe ranks below 75% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 25%
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.
In Wivenhoe the average household is 2.2 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. 3.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, a higher share than in 91% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children. One-person households: 31% of the total.
In Wivenhoe, 15% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 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
Households in detached houses make up 35%, against 21% across England’s towns. The share of households in terraced houses across England’s towns is 24%. Census figures put households without a car or van at 16% in Wivenhoe.
Wivenhoe ranks above 78% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 11%
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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 20% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. At 96%, the share of residents whose main language is English is lower than in 70% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (4.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.9%).
43% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 87% 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: 86% of Wivenhoe · Essex’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The Muslim share of residents is 1.4%. The usual figure: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British are rarer here than in 77% of UK towns.
Wivenhoe ranks below 67% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 30%
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
There is little gap on unpaid carers: 8.8%, about the same as across England’s towns. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. 151 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week.
43% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 43% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 12% hold no qualification (18%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 16%.
187th highest median age among 538 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Red Lodge is the youngest (30.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Wivenhoe in age: North Anston (47.1), Cuddington (47.1), Bourne End (47.1) and Haworth (47.2).
Median age: 3 of the 7 towns around Wivenhoe are 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wivenhoe | 7,354 | — | 47.1 | 25% | 25% |
| Rowhedge | 2,492 | 0.8 mi | 40.5 | 18% | 27% |
| Alresford | 2,462 | 1.7 mi | 46.2 | 27% | 26% |
| Elmstead Market | 1,767 | 2 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 25% |
| Berechurch | 7,702 | 2.4 mi | 35.7 | 13% | 35% |
| Langenhoe and Abberton | 1,010 | 3 mi | 53.4 | 31% | 22% |
| Colchester | 130,259 | 3.3 mi | 35.9 | 15% | 31% |
| Thorrington | 1,427 | 3.5 mi | 52.1 | 31% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Wivenhoe’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 Wivenhoe’s residents
What is the population of Wivenhoe?
The 2021 Census counted 7,354 people in Wivenhoe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Wivenhoe?
The median age was 47.1 at the 2021 Census, older than 69% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wivenhoe?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across Essex’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wivenhoe?
47% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.4% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Wivenhoe good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wivenhoe’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.