Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 98% of UK towns: 7.2%
Households without a car or van: 8.8%, below 88% of UK towns. The census found that 22% of households are one person living alone in Widford. Higher than in nearly three quarters of UK towns: 39% of households live in a detached house. The village is home to 658 residents in 262 households, by the 2021 Census.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 26% in Widford, more than in 78% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Widford’s residents are over 47.4, older than in 71% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Oaklands, the oldest of Hertfordshire’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
A lower share of full-time students than 75% of UK towns, at 4.2%
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 11%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Larger households than 79% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average
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.
Against a figure of 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Widford comes in at 2.7%. Locally, 28% of households have dependent children.
Fewer flats than 73% of UK towns: 6.8% of households
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 terraced houses are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 24%. As a reference point, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Widford sits above 84% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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 EU countries (2.7%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). By way of comparison, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 5.5% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns.
In Widford, 53% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 71% 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 Widford · Hertfordshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%; Widford has 91%. Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.6%), Mixed or multiple (2.9%) and Arab (0.8%).
55% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 88% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Some 14 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Widford has fewer adults who have never married than 82% of UK towns, at 28%. At 8.9%, the share of unpaid carers is in line with the figure across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 37% of Widford’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 17% have no qualification (18%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Widford
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widford | 658 | — | 47.4 | 26% | 28% |
| Hadham Cross | 1,275 | 1.9 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 29% |
| Stanstead Abbotts | 3,754 | 3.4 mi | 44.4 | 20% | 25% |
| Great Amwell | 1,017 | 3.6 mi | 50.5 | 23% | 29% |
| Roydon | 1,587 | 3.8 mi | 48.3 | 22% | 25% |
| Sawbridgeworth | 10,471 | 3.9 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Ware | 19,631 | 3.9 mi | 41.7 | 18% | 28% |
| Harlow | 93,570 | 4.5 mi | 37.2 | 15% | 34% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Widford’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 Widford’s residents
What is the population of Widford?
The 2021 Census counted 658 people in Widford’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Widford?
The median age was 47.4 at the 2021 Census. 7.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Widford?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across Hertfordshire’s towns. 5.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Widford?
40% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Widford good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Widford’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.