Higham belongs to settled homeowners in their middle years who have no plans to leave. Eight in ten households own their home. The typical resident is fifty. Fewer than one in ten rent privately. The people who arrived to raise a family are still here, and the family has moved out.
The 2021 Census records 4,161 residents in 1,676 households, and it's the source for every figure on this page. About 83% of households own their home. About 8% rent privately and about 9% rent from a social landlord. In a village like this, the private-rental market is a few houses, not a sector, and the landlord probably knows the tenant's parents.
The median resident is 50. Only about 19% are aged 25 to 44, the years when most people buy a first home, start a family and complain about nursery fees. The age profile leans towards people who have already done all three.
Modelled household income, before tax, averaged about £67,000 for the financial year to March 2023. It's an estimate for that year, not a current pay packet, and it's gross, so the taxman had his share before anyone could spend it. Comfortable, not flashy: the sort of income that pays for an extension and then argues with the builder about the invoice.
Lone-parent households make up about 8% of the village. The rest splits the way an older, owner-occupied village usually does.
About 24% of households are one person living alone, and about 16% are a pensioner living alone, which is part of that 24%, not in addition to it. Couples with dependent children make up about 19%. So the single pensioner and the young family are close in number, and in practice they share the same bus stop and not much else.
About 28% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, about 17% have no formal qualifications, and about 2% are full-time students. It's a mixed picture: some graduates and some who left school and went straight to work, living on the same streets and in the same kinds of houses. Students barely register, which means the village gets no late-night kebab economy.
The Census counts 13 people living in communal settings such as care homes, not private households. That's too few to change any of the shares above.
Higham's population is ordinary in the best sense: owner-occupied, middle-aged, reasonably well off, and neither wealthy enough to look down on anyone nor struggling. If you want a village where the neighbours will still be there in ten years, this is one. If you want one where the neighbours are your age and at the same point in life, that depends on how old you are.