Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households with dependent children than 96% of UK towns, at 37%
Here 7.3% of households have no car or van, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. In 2021, the Census found 12,313 residents in Stotfold, living in 4,886 households. The share of married adults and civil partners stands at 54%. One-person households are rarer here than in 91% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Stotfold’s people
A town of families
37% of Stotfold’s 4,886 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 Stotfold at 9,700 in 2011 and 13,700 in 2024, up 41%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 97% 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.
A +41% change since 2011: Stotfold grew faster than 97% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Stotfold’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 9,700 people in 2011; 13,700 in 2024.
The 0 to 15 age group moved most (+61%); the 30 to 44 group moved least (+23%). In one year, mid-2014 to mid-2015, the population rose by 500, the most of any year.
Younger than 79% of UK towns: half of Stotfold is under 40.3
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 12% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Stotfold comes in at 8.6%. On the census count, 16% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Stotfold, 40.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer full-time students than 71% of UK towns: 4.4%
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 9%, against 11% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Stotfold households average 2.5 people, larger than in 91% 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.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults trails 73% of UK towns: 1.9%.
13% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 60% 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
Households in detached houses make up 32%, against 21% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns. 19% of households live in a terraced house.
A larger share of residents born outside the UK than 63% of UK towns: 7.9%
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 newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 8.5% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.9%) or in the Middle East and Asia (2.1%).
More residents with no religion than 81% of UK towns: 46%
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 Stotfold · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (4.2%), Mixed or multiple (3.2%) and Indian (2.9%). On residents who describe themselves as White British, Stotfold sits lower than 77% of UK towns: 86%. Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Christians make up 45% of residents, against 46% across England’s towns.
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 67% of UK towns: 30%
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
At 7.7%, the share of unpaid carers is in line with the figure across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. For 241 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
37% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Stotfold, 37% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 12% have no qualification at all (18%).
Ranked by age, 57th youngest of 382 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Stotfold in age: Bacup (40.3), Irthlingborough (40.3), Hersham (40.3) and Carmarthen (40.3).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Stotfold
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stotfold | 12,313 | — | 40.3 | 16% | 37% |
| Arlesey | 6,027 | 1.2 mi | 39.9 | 15% | 29% |
| Letchworth | 33,993 | 2.2 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 29% |
| Henlow | 2,446 | 2.5 mi | 46 | 21% | 31% |
| Baldock | 10,613 | 2.7 mi | 43.5 | 19% | 27% |
| Lower Stondon | 3,966 | 3 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 33% |
| Clifton | 2,769 | 3.3 mi | 43.8 | 20% | 30% |
| Langford | 3,712 | 3.3 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 Stotfold’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. Stotfold’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 12,422 people in 2021, against 12,313 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 Stotfold’s residents
What is the population of Stotfold?
The 2021 Census counted 12,313 people in Stotfold’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 13,700 people in mid-2024, 41% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Stotfold?
The median age was 40.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 79% of UK towns. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Stotfold?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 61% across Bedfordshire’s towns. 7.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Stotfold?
46% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Stotfold good for families?
37% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Stotfold’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.