Photo: Robert Lamb · CC BY-SA 2.0Redbridge is younger than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 36.1
The figure for households in flats is 34% in Redbridge and 23% across England’s towns. On the census count, 7% of households live in a detached house. Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 99% of UK towns: 30%. The 2021 Census counted 309,509 residents in 103,398 households.
What the Census says about Redbridge’s people
More born abroad than most towns
44% of residents were born outside the UK, against 41% across London and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (23%) and in EU countries (11%). Where people were born ↓
A borough of families
41% of Redbridge’s 103,398 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 98% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A mix of backgrounds
77% 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 Indian (17%), Pakistani (14%) and Other White (12%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Redbridge’s residents are under 36.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 12% 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.
Redbridge grew +14% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 74% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Redbridge’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 279,900 people in 2011; 319,800 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+20%) and the 0 to 15 least (+9%). The steepest year was mid-2013 to mid-2014, up 5,820 people.
Below 95% of UK towns: 12% of residents are 65 or over
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. The biggest five-year age group is 35–39, with nearly one in ten residents. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Redbridge, 36.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More students than 96% of UK towns: 10% of adults in Redbridge
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in a third of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 17% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. For Redbridge, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 9.5%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Redbridge ranks above 98% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 41%
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.
Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 5.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Redbridge. In Redbridge, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone. Typically, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Redbridge sits above 91% of UK towns for households without a car or van (28%)
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
Where nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, Redbridge has 32%. One household in 4 has no car or van.
Redbridge: 44% 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 55%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (23%) and in EU countries (11%). Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 74% here, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 19%.
Redbridge ranks below 99% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 13%
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: 23% of Redbridge · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents who describe themselves as White British (23%), Redbridge is below 99% of UK towns. The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The Muslim share of residents is 31%.
Adults who have never married make up 36% in Redbridge, more than in 72% 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 5,828. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 93% of UK towns. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Redbridge comes in at 51%.
42% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Redbridge, 42% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 17% have no qualification at all (18%). The highest qualification of 14% is A levels, often students still at university.
From a median age of 32 in Loxford Park to 45 in Woodford Wells
The borough’s 33 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Woodford Wells is the oldest area, with 22% aged 65 or over; Loxford Park the youngest (median age 32). Families with children are most common in Ilford South West (50% of households).
Ranked by age, 20th oldest of 39 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tower Hamlets (30.8) and the oldest Bromley (41.2). Nearest to Redbridge in age: Waltham Forest (35.8), Brent (35.9), Haringey (36.2) and Hounslow (36.8).
Median age: 4 of the 7 towns around Redbridge 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redbridge | 309,509 | — | 36.1 | 12% | 41% |
| Chigwell | 12,251 | 2.4 mi | 39.3 | 17% | 38% |
| Barking and Dagenham | 218,236 | 3.1 mi | 33.3 | 8.7% | 45% |
| Chigwell Row | 2,115 | 3.5 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Buckhurst Hill | 11,749 | 3.6 mi | 41.8 | 18% | 31% |
| Newham | 351,065 | 3.6 mi | 32.5 | 7.2% | 38% |
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | 3.7 mi | 35.8 | 10% | 35% |
| Loughton | 33,338 | 4.8 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 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.
- “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 Redbridge’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. Redbridge’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 308,770 people in 2021, against 309,509 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 Redbridge’s residents
What is the population of Redbridge?
The 2021 Census counted 309,509 people in Redbridge’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 319,800 people in mid-2024, 14% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Redbridge?
The median age was 36.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Redbridge?
23% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 44% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Redbridge?
13% said they had no religion and 30% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 31% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Redbridge good for families?
41% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Ilford South West (50% of households). Schools are on Redbridge’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.