Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Tilsworth is over 55.5, older than 97% of UK towns
18% of households have dependent children; across England’s towns the figure is 29%. Tilsworth is home to 371 residents in 169 households, by the 2021 Census. Households in flats: 0.6% of the total. Lower than in 96% of UK towns: 27% of residents said they have no religion.
Below 97% of UK towns: 7.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
In Tilsworth, 27% of residents are 65 or over, beside 18% across England’s towns. For comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
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.
A smaller share of full-time students than 92% of UK towns: 3.7%
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%.
By class, 39% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 16% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year: 8.9% of the total. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Fewer one-person households than 91% of UK towns: 24%
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.
At 4.7%, shared households of unrelated adults sit close to the figure across England’s towns. To put it in context, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Each household has 2.2 people on average.
In Tilsworth, 4.9% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 99% 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. Elsewhere, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Across Tilsworth, 27% of households live in a terraced house.
Tilsworth: 7.3% of residents born outside the UK
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.5%) and in Africa (3%). The share of residents born outside the UK across England’s towns is 18%. In Tilsworth, 98% of residents have English as their main language, beside 90% across England’s towns.
Tilsworth sits above 99% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (66%)
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 Tilsworth · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (5.4%), Mixed or multiple (2.2%) and African (1.4%). For residents who describe themselves as Christian, the comparison across England’s towns is 46%. Tilsworth has fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 63% of UK towns, at 90%.
In Tilsworth, 12% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 97% 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
By its share of married adults and civil partners (57%), Tilsworth is above 94% of UK towns. As a reference point, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Adults who have never married: a quarter of the total.
30% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Tilsworth, 30% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 17% have no qualification at all (18%).
The towns around Tilsworth are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tilsworth | 371 | — | 55.5 | 27% | 18% |
| Hockliffe | 1,068 | 1.5 mi | 38.4 | 13% | 32% |
| Totternhoe | 1,017 | 1.9 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 19% |
| Eaton Bray and Edlesborough | 4,201 | 2.6 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 25% |
| Houghton Regis | 18,814 | 2.7 mi | 36.5 | 12% | 37% |
| Dunstable | 34,498 | 2.9 mi | 39 | 17% | 31% |
| Toddington | 4,509 | 3.1 mi | 46.6 | 22% | 29% |
| Leighton Buzzard | 42,736 | 3.4 mi | 39.4 | 17% | 32% |
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 Tilsworth’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 Tilsworth’s residents
What is the population of Tilsworth?
The 2021 Census counted 371 people in Tilsworth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Tilsworth?
The median age was 55.5 at the 2021 Census. 7.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Tilsworth?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 61% across Bedfordshire’s towns. 7.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Tilsworth?
27% said they had no religion and 66% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Tilsworth good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Tilsworth’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.