Photo: Rob Farrow · CC BY-SA 2.0Totternhoe is older than 95% of UK towns: a median age of 53.6
With households in flats at 1.5%, Totternhoe is behind 98% of UK towns on that count. The village had 1,017 residents in 467 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put households with dependent children at 19% in the village. More households in detached houses than in three quarters of UK towns: 40%.
What the Census says about Totternhoe’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Totternhoe’s residents are under 53.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Totternhoe: 31% of residents are 65 or over, above 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 77% of UK towns: 8.9%. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Totternhoe ranks below 99% of UK towns on full-time students: 2.5%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in just over a third of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 19% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.2%.
Totternhoe households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 78% 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.
At 3.6%, shared households of unrelated adults sit close to the figure across England’s towns. The census found that 30% of households are one person living alone in Totternhoe.
Fewer households without a car or van than 80% of UK towns: 10%
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 figure for households in terraced houses is 16% in Totternhoe and 24% across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Totternhoe, more than in 95% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.9%). Residents born outside the UK are rarer here than in 71% of UK towns. Across the comparison, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Totternhoe sits above 83% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (56%)
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: 94% of Totternhoe · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 37%. The census found that 94% of residents describe themselves as White British in Totternhoe. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%.
In Totternhoe, 27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 84% 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
Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Totternhoe comes in at 52%. Fewer unpaid carers than in 67% of UK towns: 8.8%. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%. 32 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 29%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 29% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 18% hold no qualification (18%).
Every nearby town is younger than Totternhoe
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totternhoe | 1,017 | — | 53.6 | 31% | 19% |
| Eaton Bray and Edlesborough | 4,201 | 1.1 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 25% |
| Dunstable | 34,498 | 1.7 mi | 39 | 17% | 31% |
| Houghton Regis | 18,814 | 2.7 mi | 36.5 | 12% | 37% |
| Hockliffe | 1,068 | 3.4 mi | 38.4 | 13% | 32% |
| Kensworth | 1,517 | 3.5 mi | 46 | 21% | 29% |
| Toddington | 4,509 | 4.4 mi | 46.6 | 22% | 29% |
| Caddington | 3,288 | 4.7 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 25% |
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 Totternhoe’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 Totternhoe’s residents
What is the population of Totternhoe?
The 2021 Census counted 1,017 people in Totternhoe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Totternhoe?
The median age was 53.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Totternhoe?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 61% across Bedfordshire’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Totternhoe?
37% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Totternhoe good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Totternhoe’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.