Photo: Ojw at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Households with dependent children: 38%, a higher share than 96% of UK towns
Households average 2.6 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put Silsoe’s population at 3,419, in 1,332 households. Locally, 5% of households have no car or van. Half of the town’s residents are under 39.7, younger than in just over four in five UK towns.
What the Census says about Silsoe’s people
A town of families
38% of Silsoe’s 1,332 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 96% of UK towns. 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Silsoe at 1,800 in 2011 and 3,700 in 2024, up 108%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 99% 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.
Silsoe grew +108% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 99% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Silsoe’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 1,800 people in 2011; 3,700 in 2024.
Split by age, the 0 to 15 changed most (+185%) and the 45 to 64 least (+72%). Between mid-2014 and mid-2015 the population rose by 330, its biggest one-year gain.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.4%, a lower share than 87% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
5–9 is the most common age band: 8% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over account for 16%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Silsoe, 39.7. 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.
In Silsoe, 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 92% 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%.
With full-time students at 5.1%, Silsoe is ahead of 61% of UK towns on that count. Across England’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Only 22% of households are one person living alone in Silsoe
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.
The figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 2.8% in Silsoe and 4.3% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
48% of households live in a detached house, more than in 87% 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
Against a figure of 23% across England’s towns, the share of households in flats in Silsoe comes in at 7.1%. Across Silsoe, 20% of households live in a terraced house. The wider picture: just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
More residents born outside the UK than 55% of UK towns: 6.9%
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%). For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 16% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns).
Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 75% of UK towns: 86%
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 Silsoe · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Silsoe comes in at 41%. Meanwhile, more residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 61% of UK towns: 51%. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (5%), Mixed or multiple (3.5%) and Indian (2.1%).
Married adults and civil partners: 56%, a higher share than 90% 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
On unpaid carers, 8.9% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Set beside that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Adults who have never married: 29% of the total.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 41% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 41% of adults in Silsoe (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 10% (England’s towns: 18%).
84th lowest median age among 749 UK towns of 2,500 to 5,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Milford on Sea the oldest (64.6). Nearest to Silsoe in age: Tibshelf (39.7), Roade (39.7), Silver End (39.7) and Teynham (39.7).
The towns around Silsoe are all 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silsoe | 3,419 | — | 39.7 | 16% | 38% |
| Flitton | 1,531 | 1.2 mi | 46.2 | 19% | 34% |
| Clophill | 2,515 | 1.5 mi | 49.7 | 24% | 28% |
| Maulden | 2,486 | 2.2 mi | 45.6 | 20% | 30% |
| Barton-le-Clay | 4,941 | 2.8 mi | 47.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Flitwick | 13,668 | 3 mi | 42 | 18% | 29% |
| Shillington | 1,629 | 3 mi | 45.4 | 20% | 28% |
| Ampthill | 8,825 | 3.1 mi | 43 | 18% | 33% |
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 Silsoe’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. Silsoe’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,419 people in 2021, against 3,419 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 Silsoe’s residents
What is the population of Silsoe?
The 2021 Census counted 3,419 people in Silsoe’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,700 people in mid-2024, 108% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Silsoe?
The median age was 39.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 82% of UK towns. 8.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Silsoe?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 61% across Bedfordshire’s towns. 6.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Silsoe?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Silsoe good for families?
38% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Silsoe’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.