Photo: Tim Glover · CC BY-SA 2.0Clapham ranks below 85% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 80%
In Clapham, 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, beside 4.3% across England’s towns. Here, 31% of households have dependent children. Half of the town’s residents are under 43.2, younger than in 60% of UK towns. The town’s 1,923 households held 4,502 residents at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Clapham’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Clapham at 4,600 in 2011 and 4,500 in 2024, down 2%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 92% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Clapham changed by −2% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 92% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Clapham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,600 people in 2011; 4,500 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+24%) and the 30 to 44 group least (−24%).
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 80% of UK towns: 11%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 18%; Clapham has 20%. As a yardstick, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The largest age band is 55–59: 7.5% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Clapham, 43.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 85% of UK towns
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%.
6.3% of adults are full-time students (England’s towns: 7.9%). To put it in context, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 66% of UK towns: 2.3 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Bedfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Against a figure of 30% across England’s towns, the share of one-person households in Clapham comes in at 31%.
Households in terraced houses: 17%, a lower share than 62% of UK towns
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: 13%, below three fifths of UK towns. Nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment. Few places have so few households in detached houses: 20% here, fewer than in 73% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 24% of households live in a terraced house.
Clapham ranks above 78% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 11%
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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Set against 90% across England’s towns, 95% of residents have English as their main language in Clapham. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (5.6%) and in Africa (2.3%).
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 69% of UK towns, at 53%
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: 80% of Clapham · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 37%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. Islam is the religion of 1.6% of residents. As a reference point, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Clapham ranks below 55% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 47%
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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 99. The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%. Clapham has fewer unpaid carers than 73% of UK towns, at 8.5%. Adults who have never married make up 32%, against 39% across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 32%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Clapham counts 32% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 17% have no qualification (18%). A levels are the highest qualification of 17%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people: this is the 181st youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe the oldest (64.7). Nearest to Clapham in age: Elmswell (43.2), Saxmundham (43.2), St Columb Major (43.2) and Measham (43.3).
A younger town than 3 of the 7 around it: Clapham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clapham | 4,502 | — | 43.2 | 20% | 31% |
| Oakley | 2,507 | 1.1 mi | 45.1 | 23% | 34% |
| Bromham | 4,652 | 1.9 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 27% |
| Bedford | 97,226 | 2.5 mi | 38.4 | 15% | 31% |
| Great Denham | 4,363 | 2.7 mi | 31.7 | 3.9% | 47% |
| Kempston | 22,779 | 3.4 mi | 39 | 16% | 32% |
| Sharnbrook | 1,744 | 4.7 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 28% |
| Shortstown | 4,837 | 4.8 mi | 32.9 | 6.7% | 42% |
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.
- “Bedfordshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Bedfordshire (or England), summed the same way as Clapham’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. Clapham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,502 people in 2021, against 4,502 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 Clapham’s residents
What is the population of Clapham?
The 2021 Census counted 4,502 people in Clapham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,500 people in mid-2024, 2% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Clapham?
The median age was 43.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 60% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Clapham?
80% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 61% across Bedfordshire’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Clapham?
37% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.6% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Clapham good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Clapham’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. 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.