Photo: Sealman · CC BY-SA 3.0Only 6% of households have no car or van in Essendon
The median age in Essendon is 49.5, higher than in 83% of UK towns. In Essendon, 26% of households are one person living alone. The village had 661 residents in 271 households at the 2021 Census. Households in Essendon hold 2.4 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4).
26% of Essendon is 65 or over, a higher share than 76% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 9.4% in Essendon and 12% across England’s towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 99% of UK towns: 4.3%
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 7.9% across England’s towns, the share of full-time students in Essendon comes in at 6%. The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns: 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Fewer families than 74% of UK towns: 25% of households have children
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Hertfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults tops 83% of UK towns: 3.3%. As a reference point, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
28% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 79% 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 figure for households in flats is 8.2% in Essendon and 23% across England’s towns. Against that, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. Here, 29% of households live in a detached house.
Above 79% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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
Most residents from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (2.3%) or in EU countries (2%). Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns. In Essendon, 6.4% of residents were born outside the UK, beside 18% across England’s towns.
35% said they have no religion, fewer than in 80% 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 Essendon · Hertfordshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (4.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (1.4%). Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion. 53% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a higher share than in 71% of UK towns. Still, residents who describe themselves as White British make up 91%, against 73% across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners: 54%, a higher share than 86% of UK towns
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 17. Essendon has fewer unpaid carers than 97% of UK towns, at 6.9%. Measured more widely, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 35% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 35% of adults in Essendon (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 17% (England’s towns: 18%).
No nearby town is as old as Essendon
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essendon | 661 | — | 49.5 | 26% | 25% |
| Brookmans Park | 4,033 | 3 mi | 45 | 21% | 32% |
| Welham Green | 2,962 | 3 mi | 45.6 | 21% | 25% |
| Welwyn Garden City | 51,504 | 3.2 mi | 39.6 | 16% | 32% |
| Hatfield | 41,561 | 3.3 mi | 30.3 | 10% | 32% |
| Cuffley | 4,350 | 3.7 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 28% |
| Goff's Oak | 3,503 | 4.2 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 27% |
| Colney Heath | 1,059 | 4.3 mi | 44.9 | 20% | 32% |
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.
- “Hertfordshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Hertfordshire (or England), summed the same way as Essendon’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 Essendon’s residents
What is the population of Essendon?
The 2021 Census counted 661 people in Essendon’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Essendon?
The median age was 49.5 at the 2021 Census. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Essendon?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across Hertfordshire’s towns. 6.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Essendon?
35% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Essendon good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Essendon’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.