Erlen is a municipality in Weinfelden District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.

The current municipality was formed in 1995 from the smaller communities of Erlen, Engishofen, Ennetaach, Kümmertshausen and Riedt.

[4] Before 1798 Erlen belonged in the so-called Hohen Gerichte, which was directly under the authority of the Confederation governor of Thurgau.

Ehstegen was part of the Oberaach fief of the Abbey of St. Gall and until 1812 formed its own municipality.

[4] In 1764 a Reformed Church was built in Erlen, though it remained part of the parish of Sulgen.

The Brunschweiler family from Schocherswil settled in Erlen in 1652 and promoted the spread of spinning and weaving as a cottage industry.

It consists of the linear village of Erlen and the former communities of Buchackern, Engishofen, Ennetaach, and Kümmertshausen as well as Riedt (which used to be part of the municipality of Sulgen).

The village of Erlen consists of the sections of Erlen-Dorf, Ehstegen and Eppishausen.

[7] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Erlen is; 323 children or 10.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 447 teenagers or 14.3% are between 10 and 19.

[14] The historical population is given in the following table:[4] The entire village of Erlen-Eppishausen is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[8] From the 2000 census[update], 908 or 29.6% were Roman Catholic, while 1,460 or 47.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

Of the children in kindergarten, 40 or 47.1% are female, 21 or 24.7% are not Swiss citizens and 22 or 25.9% do not speak German natively.

The lower and upper primary levels begin at about age 5-6 and lasts for 6 years.

At the lower primary level, there are 56 children or 46.3% of the total population who are female, 32 or 26.4% are not Swiss citizens and 28 or 23.1% do not speak German natively.

In the upper primary level, there are 67 or 52.8% who are female, 28 or 22.0% are not Swiss citizens and 26 or 20.5% do not speak German natively.

There are 93 teenagers who are in the advanced school, of which 42 or 45.2% are female, 5 or 5.4% are not Swiss citizens and 8 or 8.6% do not speak German natively.

There are 79 teenagers who are in the standard school, of which 33 or 41.8% are female, 13 or 16.5% are not Swiss citizens and 16 or 20.3% do not speak German natively.