Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Cranfield is younger than 98% of UK towns: a median age of 33.1
34% of households have dependent children; across England’s towns the figure is 29%. The 2021 Census counted 7,053 residents in 2,474 households. Residents who describe themselves as White British account for 70%. More adults who have never married than in 95% of UK towns: 43%.
What the Census says about Cranfield’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 1,188 full-time students aged 16 and over, 21% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 16% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than most towns
25% of residents were born outside the UK, against 23% across Bedfordshire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (11%) and in EU countries (7.3%). Where people were born ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Cranfield’s residents are under 33.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 16% are 15 to 24 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
20% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns, and 1% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
16% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 20–24: just over one in ten residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. The census found that 13% of residents are 65 or over in Cranfield.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cranfield, 33.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
21% of adults are full-time students, more than in 99% 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%.
The share of residents who moved in within the year tops 98% of UK towns: 20%. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
One-person households: 20%, a lower share than 97% of UK towns
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.
Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%; Cranfield has 5.7%. To put it in context, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The average household has 2.6 people.
Households without a car or van make up 9.8% in Cranfield, less than in 83% 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
With households in terraced houses at 14%, Cranfield is behind 74% of UK towns on that count. For comparison, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Households in detached houses account for 44%. At 5.7%, the share of households in flats is lower than in four fifths of UK towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 25%, a higher share than 96% of UK towns
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
62% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. On the census count, 85% of residents have English as their main language.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 43%, a lower share than 86% of UK towns
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: 70% of Cranfield · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Muslims make up 4.4% of residents. The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46% across England’s towns. Residents with no religion make up 41%, against 37% across England’s towns.
Cranfield sits below 97% of UK towns for unpaid carers (6.8%)
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 104. The usual figure: nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. On married adults and civil partners, Cranfield sits lower than 77% of UK towns: 44%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 46% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 46% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 10% hold no qualification (18%). The highest qualification of 17% is A levels, often students still at university.
Of 538 UK towns its size (5,000 to 10,000 people), the 5th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Red Lodge is the youngest (30.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Cranfield in age: Waverley and Catcliffe (32.6), Purfleet-on-Thames (32.7), Aylesham (33.2) and East Tilbury (33.8).
Of the 7 towns nearest Cranfield, 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranfield | 7,053 | — | 33.1 | 13% | 34% |
| Marston Moretaine | 6,350 | 2.5 mi | 35.5 | 12% | 41% |
| Lidlington | 1,300 | 3 mi | 42.1 | 16% | 37% |
| Wootton | 7,567 | 3.8 mi | 36.6 | 15% | 39% |
| Woburn Sands | 4,315 | 4.3 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 29% |
| Stewartby | 2,546 | 4.3 mi | 31.2 | 8.6% | 44% |
| Aspley Guise | 2,114 | 4.4 mi | 52.4 | 28% | 23% |
| Newport Pagnell | 15,250 | 5.3 mi | 42.6 | 21% | 30% |
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 Cranfield’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Cranfield’s residents
What is the population of Cranfield?
The 2021 Census counted 7,053 people in Cranfield’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Cranfield?
The median age was 33.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 98% of UK towns. 16% of residents were 15 to 24 and 13% were 65 or over.
Is Cranfield a student town?
Yes: 21% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (1,188 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Cranfield?
70% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 61% across Bedfordshire’s towns. 25% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cranfield?
41% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 4.4% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Cranfield good for families?
34% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cranfield’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). 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.