Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0Families with children: 33% of households, more than in 89% of UK towns
The median age in Shefford is 39.9, lower than in 81% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 7,317 residents locally, living in 3,016 households. For Shefford, the census puts households without a car or van at 9.8%. 16% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns.
What the Census says about Shefford’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Shefford at 6,300 in 2011 and 8,400 in 2024, up 35%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 95% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
More with no religion than most
50% 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.
+35% since 2011, a pace 95% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Shefford’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 6,300 people in 2011; 8,400 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2022 to mid-2023, 350 people. The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+58%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (+13%).
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 86% of UK towns, at 16%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 7.6% of residents. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in just over three fifths of UK towns. In Caddington, the oldest of Bedfordshire’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Shefford, 39.9. 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.
A student town: 4.9% of adults study full-time
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%.
Two fifths of Shefford’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 19% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. In Shefford, 8.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Shefford households average 2.4 people, larger 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.
Where 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, Shefford has 2.8%. In Shefford, 28% of households are one person living alone.
A larger share of households in detached houses than 63% of UK towns: 34%
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 in terraced houses tops 69% of UK towns: 25%. 16% of households live in a flat, more than in 75% of UK towns; 34% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 60% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%). Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. In Shefford, 5.8% of residents were born outside the UK, beside 18% across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion: 50%, a higher share than 92% 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: 90% of Shefford · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British trails 66% of UK towns: 90%. Here, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian. The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 37% across England’s towns.
More adults who have never married than 66% of UK towns: 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
Married adults and civil partners: 46%, below 60% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Census figures put unpaid carers at 8.4% in Shefford.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Shefford, 14%, while 33% hold one at degree level (34%).
Among 538 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000 people, the 79th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Red Lodge (30.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Shefford in age: Blackheath (39.8), Paulton (39.8), Arlesey (39.9) and Eye (40).
A younger town than 6 of the 7 around it: Shefford
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shefford | 7,317 | — | 39.9 | 16% | 33% |
| Clifton | 2,769 | 1.4 mi | 43.8 | 20% | 30% |
| Meppershall | 2,044 | 1.5 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 30% |
| Henlow | 2,446 | 2.1 mi | 46 | 21% | 31% |
| Lower Stondon | 3,966 | 2.6 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 33% |
| Langford | 3,712 | 2.9 mi | 45.2 | 22% | 27% |
| Shillington | 1,629 | 3.1 mi | 45.4 | 20% | 28% |
| Arlesey | 6,027 | 3.5 mi | 39.9 | 15% | 29% |
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 Shefford’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. Shefford’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 7,656 people in 2021, against 7,317 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 Shefford’s residents
What is the population of Shefford?
The 2021 Census counted 7,317 people in Shefford’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 8,400 people in mid-2024, 35% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Shefford?
The median age was 39.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 81% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shefford?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 61% across Bedfordshire’s towns. 5.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shefford?
50% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Shefford good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shefford’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.