Photo: PAUL FARMER · CC BY-SA 2.0Sandy: 49% of residents said they have no religion, above 91% of UK towns
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses in Sandy comes in at 32%. Across Sandy, 27% of households are one person living alone. Half of the town’s residents are under 41.9, younger than in 70% of UK towns. This Bedfordshire town had 11,375 residents in 4,697 households at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Sandy’s people
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 43% 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.
Slower than most: +5% since 2011, behind 64% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Sandy’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,200 people in 2011; 10,700 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+37%); the 30 to 44 group moved least (−10%). Mid-2012 to mid-2013 brought the biggest yearly rise, 210 people.
Sandy sits above 74% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (11%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 50–54: 7.4% of residents. At 18%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is lower than in 75% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In Caddington, the oldest of Bedfordshire’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Sandy, 41.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Sandy sits below 71% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (7.8%)
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 33% of Sandy’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 25%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. The share of full-time students stands at 4.9%.
2.4 people per household, more than in 77% 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 households with dependent children is 29%; Sandy has 30%. Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home locally.
Fewer detached houses than 64% of UK towns: 24% of households
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
The share of households without a car or van is 13%, against 24% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%. The census found that 11% of households live in a flat or apartment in Sandy.
Residents born outside the UK make up 8% in Sandy, more than in 64% 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
Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%; Sandy has 97%. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.8%). Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
In Sandy, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer 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: 88% of Sandy · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%; Sandy has 88%. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (5.1%), Mixed or multiple (2.9%) and Indian (1%). Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
34% of adults have never married, more than in 59% of UK towns
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
Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 288. At 8.8%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. Against that, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Sandy, 26% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 17% have no qualification at all (18%).
397 UK towns of 8,000 to 15,000 people: this is the 110th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Sandy in age: Uttoxeter (41.9), Shifnal (41.9), Southborough (41.9) and Street (41.9).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 6 are older than Sandy
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy | 11,375 | — | 41.9 | 18% | 30% |
| Blunham | 1,391 | 1.7 mi | 44.7 | 23% | 30% |
| Upper Caldecote | 1,333 | 2.4 mi | 48.9 | 24% | 26% |
| Great Barford | 2,254 | 3.1 mi | 44.7 | 20% | 33% |
| Potton | 5,229 | 3.2 mi | 43 | 20% | 29% |
| Biggleswade | 21,945 | 3.4 mi | 37.7 | 15% | 31% |
| Gamlingay | 2,920 | 4.4 mi | 51 | 30% | 24% |
| Langford | 3,712 | 5.5 mi | 45.2 | 22% | 27% |
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 Sandy’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. Sandy’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 10,691 people in 2021, against 11,375 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 Sandy’s residents
What is the population of Sandy?
The 2021 Census counted 11,375 people in Sandy’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,700 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Sandy?
The median age was 41.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 70% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sandy?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 61% across Bedfordshire’s towns. 8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sandy?
49% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Sandy good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sandy’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.