Photo: Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of households with dependent children than 95% of UK towns: 36%
With one-person households at 23%, Downley is behind 93% of UK towns on that count. Here, 57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Lower than in 87% of UK towns: 9.1% of households have no car or van. At the 2021 Census, 2,655 people lived in the town, in 1,014 households.
What the Census says about Downley’s people
A town of families
36% of Downley’s 1,014 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 95% of UK towns. 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
In Downley, 9.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 63% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 8.4% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In Downley, a fifth of residents are 65 or over. With a median age of 43.7, Downley is younger than 56% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Downley, 43.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
7.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 81% 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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Downley has 45% and 16%. By way of comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. Locally, 5.3% of adults are full-time students.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Downley households average 2.6 people, larger than in 94% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Buckinghamshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The census found that 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Downley.
More terraced houses than 81% of UK towns: 29% of households
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
6.3% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. Downley has more households in detached houses than 73% of UK towns, at 38%. Measured more widely, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Downley sits above 84% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (14%)
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 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 12% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Locally, 95% of residents have English as their main language.
Downley sits below 87% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (77%)
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: 77% of Downley · Buckinghamshire’s towns 68% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (5.3%), Indian (4.6%) and Mixed or multiple (3.9%). At 35%, the share of residents with no religion is lower than in just over four fifths of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 48%, below 61% of UK towns.
In Downley, 26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 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
Unpaid carers: 8.5%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. For adults who have never married, the comparison across England’s towns is 39%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 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 Downley’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have no qualification (18%).
514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people: this is the 131st youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to Downley in age: Holsworthy (43.6), Sutton Bridge (43.7), Lingfield (43.7) and Waltham Chase (43.7).
Around Downley, 5 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downley | 2,655 | — | 43.7 | 20% | 36% |
| High Wycombe | 83,541 | 1.6 mi | 35.8 | 12% | 34% |
| Walter's Ash and Naphill | 3,893 | 1.7 mi | 41.4 | 18% | 33% |
| Hughenden Valley | 1,814 | 1.8 mi | 51.6 | 28% | 28% |
| Great Kingshill | 1,669 | 2.8 mi | 52.1 | 28% | 25% |
| Lane End | 3,446 | 2.9 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 31% |
| Hazlemere | 20,006 | 2.9 mi | 47.5 | 25% | 30% |
| Lacey Green and Loosley Row | 1,135 | 3.7 mi | 51.2 | 24% | 24% |
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.
- “Buckinghamshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Buckinghamshire (or England), summed the same way as Downley’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 Downley’s residents
What is the population of Downley?
The 2021 Census counted 2,655 people in Downley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Downley?
The median age was 43.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 56% of UK towns. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Downley?
77% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 68% across Buckinghamshire’s towns. 14% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Downley?
35% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 4.9% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Downley good for families?
36% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Downley’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.