Photo: Mike Faherty · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Leighton Buzzard is under 39.4, younger than 83% of UK towns
Households in flats: 18% here and 23% across England’s towns. Census figures put households with dependent children at 32% in Leighton Buzzard. 86% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 77% of UK towns. There were 17,925 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 42,736 residents.
What the Census says about Leighton Buzzard’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Leighton Buzzard at 38,400 in 2011 and 46,400 in 2024, up 21%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 87% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
More with no religion than most
47% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 45% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
Leighton Buzzard grew +21% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 87% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Leighton Buzzard’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 38,400 people in 2011; 46,400 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+39%) and the 16 to 29 least (−1%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2024: 930 more people.
In Leighton Buzzard, 8.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 82% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here 17% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure across England’s towns is 18%. The usual figure: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 8.3% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Leighton Buzzard, 39.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of full-time students than 82% of UK towns, at 4.1%
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 79% of UK towns: 10%. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
A lower share of one-person households than 74% of UK towns, at 27%
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.
A household here has 2.4 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone. For Leighton Buzzard, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 2.5%.
26% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 72% 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
Nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns, against 13% in Leighton Buzzard. In Leighton Buzzard, a quarter of households live in a detached house.
Leighton Buzzard: 10% of residents were born outside the UK, above 74% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (5.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.7%). Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. 96% of residents have English as their main language, a lower share than in 72% of UK towns. The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 13% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns).
47% said they have no religion, more than in 85% 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: 86% of Leighton Buzzard · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (6.7%), Mixed or multiple (2.9%) and Indian (1%). Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 79% of UK towns: 45%.
Leighton Buzzard ranks above 66% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 35%
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: 890. Adults who have never married make up 39% across England’s towns. 7.7% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 89% of UK towns. In Leighton Buzzard, 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Leighton Buzzard counts 34% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 14% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 31 in Toddington, Heath & Reach to 45 in Leighton Buzzard North & East
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Leighton Buzzard North & East is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Toddington, Heath & Reach the youngest (median age 31). Families with children are most common in Toddington, Heath & Reach (42% of households).
Among 165 UK towns of 30,000 to 58,000 people, the 48th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Canterbury is the youngest (27.5); Rustington the oldest (56.2). Nearest to Leighton Buzzard in age: King's Lynn (39.3), Morley (39.4), Boston (39.6) and Welwyn Garden City (39.6).
Leighton Buzzard and its 7 nearest towns: 6 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leighton Buzzard | 42,736 | — | 39.4 | 17% | 32% |
| Heath and Reach | 1,451 | 1.9 mi | 50.9 | 27% | 26% |
| Wing | 2,979 | 2.9 mi | 46.2 | 22% | 29% |
| Hockliffe | 1,068 | 3.2 mi | 38.4 | 13% | 32% |
| Stoke Hammond | 1,155 | 3.8 mi | 48.9 | 23% | 27% |
| Eaton Bray and Edlesborough | 4,201 | 4.6 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 25% |
| Stewkley | 1,421 | 4.6 mi | 45.4 | 23% | 31% |
| Totternhoe | 1,017 | 4.7 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 19% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Leighton Buzzard’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. Leighton Buzzard’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 43,547 people in 2021, against 42,736 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 Leighton Buzzard’s residents
What is the population of Leighton Buzzard?
The 2021 Census counted 42,736 people in Leighton Buzzard’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 46,400 people in mid-2024, 21% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Leighton Buzzard?
The median age was 39.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 83% of UK towns. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Leighton Buzzard?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 61% across Bedfordshire’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Leighton Buzzard?
47% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Leighton Buzzard good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Toddington, Heath & Reach (42% of households). Schools are on Leighton Buzzard’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.