Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0Enfield: 38% of households have dependent children, above 96% of UK towns
Households in Enfield hold 2.7 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). The borough’s 120,951 households held 329,822 residents at the 2021 Census. Census figures put households in flats at 39% here. A fifth of residents said they have no religion, a lower share than in 99% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Enfield’s people
More born abroad than most towns
40% of residents were born outside the UK, against 41% across London and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (15%) and in Africa (8.3%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
69% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 99% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (21%), African (11%) and Mixed or multiple (5.9%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A borough of families
38% of Enfield’s 120,951 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 96% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Enfield’s residents are under 37.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
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.
+4% since 2011, a pace below 65% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Enfield’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 313,900 people in 2011; 327,400 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2013 to mid-2014, up 4,590 people.
Younger than 91% of UK towns: half of Enfield is under 37.5
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 12%, close to the figure across England’s towns. In Enfield, 14% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Enfield, 37.5. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
A higher share of full-time students than 95% of UK towns, at 9.1%
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, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Enfield has 30% and 21%. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns. For Enfield, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 8.6%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Enfield sits below 82% of UK towns for one-person households (26%)
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against London and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 4.9%, close to the figure across England’s towns. To put it in context, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Fewer households in detached houses than 97% of UK towns: 7.4%
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 without a car or van: 31%, above 96% of UK towns. 39% of households live in a flat, more than in 98% of UK towns; 7.4% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. The census found that 29% of households live in a terraced house in Enfield.
Residents born outside the UK make up 40% in Enfield, more than in 99% 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 50%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
14% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Across Enfield, 76% of residents have English as their main language.
A lower White British share than 99% of UK towns: 31% of residents
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: 31% of Enfield · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Muslims make up 19% of residents. 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 71% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%.
Adults who have never married make up 41% in Enfield, more than in 91% 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
Married people and civil partners make up 43% of adults, against 44% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 7,103 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Enfield has fewer unpaid carers than 85% of UK towns, at 8%.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 36%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 36% of its adults qualified to degree level, Enfield compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 22% hold no qualification (18%). For 13%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 32 in Enfield Wash to 46 in Grange Park
The borough’s 36 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Grange Park is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Enfield Wash the youngest (median age 32). Families with children are most common in Enfield Wash (46% of households).
Of 38 UK towns its size (231,000 to 445,000 people), the 11th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.8 in Tower Hamlets to 41.2 in Bromley. Nearest to Enfield in age: Kingston upon Hull (37.1), Derby (37.4), Croydon (37.6) and Barnet (37.8).
A younger town than 4 of the 7 around it: Enfield
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enfield | 329,822 | — | 37.5 | 14% | 38% |
| Haringey | 264,069 | 3.5 mi | 36.2 | 10% | 30% |
| Waltham Cross | 11,936 | 3.9 mi | 36.4 | 13% | 33% |
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | 4.6 mi | 35.8 | 10% | 35% |
| Cheshunt | 43,694 | 4.9 mi | 40.4 | 17% | 32% |
| Goff's Oak | 3,503 | 5 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 27% |
| Waltham Abbey | 18,645 | 5 mi | 40.6 | 18% | 31% |
| Cuffley | 4,350 | 5.2 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 28% |
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.
- “London” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in London (or England), summed the same way as Enfield’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. Enfield’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 329,980 people in 2021, against 329,822 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 Enfield’s residents
What is the population of Enfield?
The 2021 Census counted 329,822 people in Enfield’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 327,400 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Enfield?
The median age was 37.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 91% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Enfield?
31% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 40% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Enfield?
20% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 19% were Muslim and 7% didn’t answer.
Is Enfield good for families?
38% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Enfield Wash (46% of households). Schools are on Enfield’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.