Harold Wood is home to working families in their thirties, and they are more likely to have a mortgage than savings. Just over half of households own their home. More than a quarter rent from the council or a housing association. The typical resident is in their mid-thirties. Children far outnumber retired couples here.
All population figures here come from the 2021 census, which counted 48,546 people in 18,625 households across Harold Wood. About 56% of households own their home, outright or with a mortgage. About 14% rent privately and about 28% rent from the council or a housing association. Social housing in Harold Wood is spread through the area, a legacy of the post-war building that still shapes the place.
The median age is 36, and about 30% of residents are between 25 and 44. Those are the years of first mortgages, nursery fees and arguing over whose turn it is to do the school run.
The Office for National Statistics models average household income here at about £67,000 a year before tax for the financial year to March 2023, averaged across Harold Wood's neighbourhood areas. That is gross income, so a household takes home noticeably less, and a three-bed house here is paid for out of what is left after tax.
Families with children make up a large share of households. About 21% are couples with dependent children and about 16% are lone parents, so more than a third of households are raising children.
At the other end, about 28% of households are one person living alone. About 11% of all households are a pensioner living alone, a group included within that 28%. Harold Wood has its older residents, but they are a minority in a place built around family life.
About 29% of residents aged 16 and over have a degree, and about 22% have no formal qualifications. Only about 2% are full-time students, so there is no student population to speak of.
Most people here describe themselves as healthy. About 82% of residents report good or very good health. For Havering as a whole, the rate of deaths from preventable causes is better than the England average, and smoking, at about 8% of adults, is similar to England. Those two are borough-level measures, compared against England as a whole.
Harold Wood is a modest suburb of working families. It has less money and fewer degrees than the commuter suburbs further out, and its residents mostly spend their days working and bringing up children.