Photo: Nigel Cox · CC BY-SA 2.0

46.5Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Few flats: only 1% of households in Slip End live in one

Compared with 24% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten households have no car or van here. On the census count, just over a quarter of households have dependent children. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 78% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 1,410 residents in 599 households.

26%aged 65 or over 10%born abroad 599households

Ages

Only 9.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Slip End

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

Slip EndEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

The median age in Slip End is 46.5, higher than in 65% of UK towns. The wider picture: 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%.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1516%

15 to 249.1%

25 to 4423%

45 to 6426%

65 and over26%

Slip EndBedfordshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

53% women, 47% men

Slip End

England

WomenMen

About 87 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.

Students & newcomers

3.4% of adults are full-time students, below 96% 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

Full-time students3.4%

Higher managerial and professional16%

Lower managerial and professional22%

Intermediate14%

Small employers and self-employed14%

Supervisory and technical5.3%

Semi-routine10%

Routine11%

Never worked or long-term unemployed4.5%

Slip EndBedfordshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Slip End

7.6%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

104

residents, 7.4%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0× England’s share

Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Slip End has 7.4%. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

Above 76% of UK towns: 3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 16%Living alone, under 66 12%Families with dependent children 26%Couples and families, no young children 43%Shared houses and other 3%

Against Bedfordshire’s towns and England’s towns

Slip End

Bedfordshire’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person28%

2 people38%

3 people17%

4 people12%

5 or more5.3%

England’s towns.

One-person households: 28%, below 65% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.

Homes & cars

More households in terraced houses than 81% of UK towns: 29%

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Slip End

Bedfordshire’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van8.6%

One41%

Two38%

Three or more12%

Slip EndBedfordshire’s townsEngland’s towns

In Slip End, 30% of households live in a detached house, beside 21% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households in terraced houses across England’s towns: 24%.

Where people were born

Slip End ranks above 74% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 10%

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%

Slip End

10%

Bedfordshire’s towns

23%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

Slip EndEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language97%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well2.7%

Another main language, little or no English0.7%

Slip EndBedfordshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Residents whose main language is English: 97% here and 90% across England’s towns. Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

86% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 75% 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

Slip EndBedfordshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White5.9%

Asian3.1%

Mixed1.6%

Black2.6%

Other0.5%

0%10%20%

White British, not charted: 86% of Slip End · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

Slip EndBedfordshire’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion38%

Christian52%

Muslim2.1%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist2.3%

Other religion0.7%

Didn’t answer5%

0%30%60%

52% of residents describe themselves as Christian; across England’s towns the figure is 46%. Islam is the religion of 2.1% of residents. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 38%, fewer than in 69% of UK towns. The usual figure: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 58% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership32%

Married or civil partnership47%

Separated2.1%

Divorced11%

Widowed8.1%

Slip EndBedfordshire’s townsEngland’s towns

121residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 9%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.4%

20 to 49 hours0.8%

50 hours or more2.8%

Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 38 residents. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Adults who have never married: 32% here and 39% across England’s towns.

Qualifications

Adults with a degree-level qualification: 31%

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications16%

Apprenticeship7.3%

A levels or similar18%

Degree level31%

Slip EndBedfordshire’s townsEngland’s towns

31% of Slip End’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 16% have none (18%).

Neighbours

Of the 7 towns nearest Slip End, 1 are older

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

CaddingtonMarkyateFlamsteadLutonKensworthRedbournHarpendenSlip End

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Slip End	1,410	—	46.5	26%	26%
Caddington	3,288	1.4 mi	50.3	28%	25%
Markyate	3,174	1.7 mi	41.6	16%	32%
Flamstead	1,055	2.4 mi	45.5	21%	33%
Luton	233,524	2.9 mi	34.7	12%	38%
Kensworth	1,517	2.9 mi	46	21%	29%
Redbourn	5,188	3.9 mi	46.3	24%	32%
Harpenden	30,964	4.3 mi	43.2	18%	38%

More about Slip End’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health C⁺Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute BIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living BOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools B⁺Every primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Slip End’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 Slip End’s residents

What is the population of Slip End?

The 2021 Census counted 1,410 people in Slip End’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Slip End?

The median age was 46.5 at the 2021 Census. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Slip End?

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 Slip End?

38% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.1% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.

Is Slip End good for families?

26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Slip End’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.