Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0

43.7Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Only 5.5% of households in Ashley have no car or van

2.1% of households live in a flat or apartment; across England’s towns the figure is 23%. Ashley had 676 residents and 293 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 43.7. Locally, 57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. At 8.8%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is lower than in 78% of UK towns.

19%aged 65 or over 11%born abroad 293households

Ages

19% of residents are 65 or over, below 73% of UK towns

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

AshleyEngland’s towns

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

Half of Ashley’s residents are under 43.7, younger than in 56% of UK towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Buckden, the oldest of Cambridgeshire’s towns by this measure, it is 30%.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1517%

15 to 248.8%

25 to 4427%

45 to 6429%

65 and over19%

AshleyCambridgeshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

52% women, 48% men

Ashley

England

WomenMen

About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

A lower share of full-time students than 79% of UK towns, at 4.1%

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 students4.1%

Higher managerial and professional14%

Lower managerial and professional23%

Intermediate8.5%

Small employers and self-employed13%

Supervisory and technical8.1%

Semi-routine9.7%

Routine14%

Never worked or long-term unemployed5.1%

AshleyCambridgeshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

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

Ashley

9.4%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 8.9%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.8× England’s share

Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Ashley, 38% and 24%. 8.9% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

In Ashley, 26% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 80% of UK towns

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

Living alone, 66+ 10%Living alone, under 66 16%Families with dependent children 29%Couples and families, no young children 43%Shared houses and other 2.4%

Against Cambridgeshire’s towns and England’s towns

Ashley

Cambridgeshire’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person26%

2 people42%

3 people15%

4 people11%

5 or more5.8%

England’s towns.

At 2.3 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Census figures put households with dependent children at 29% in Ashley.

Homes & cars

Ashley sits above 72% of UK towns for households in detached houses (38%)

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

Type of home

Ashley

Cambridgeshire’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van5.5%

One41%

Two39%

Three or more15%

AshleyCambridgeshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Here 16% of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. Across England’s towns, households in detached houses come to 21%.

Where people were born

11% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 77% 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 25%

Ashley

11%

Cambridgeshire’s towns

22%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language97%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well2.6%

Another main language, little or no English0.5%

AshleyCambridgeshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Set against 90% across England’s towns, 97% of residents have English as their main language in Ashley. As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (5.5%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (3%).

Ethnicity & religion

A lower White British share than 75% of UK towns: 86% of residents

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

AshleyCambridgeshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White8.3%

Asian0.6%

Mixed3%

Black1.8%

Other0%

0%8%16%

White British, not charted: 86% of Ashley · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

AshleyCambridgeshire’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion39%

Christian53%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.3%

Other religion0.3%

Didn’t answer8.3%

0%30%60%

In Ashley, nearly two in five residents said they have no religion, beside 37% across England’s towns. Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. For Ashley, the census puts residents who describe themselves as Christian at 53%.

Relationships & caring

A smaller share of adults who have never married than 86% of UK towns: 27%

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 partnership27%

Married or civil partnership57%

Separated1.6%

Divorced9.2%

Widowed5.6%

AshleyCambridgeshire’s townsEngland’s towns

66residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 10%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.6%

20 to 49 hours2.3%

50 hours or more2.3%

One in ten residents give unpaid care; across England’s towns the figure is 8.7%. The wider picture: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 15.

Qualifications

Adults with a degree-level qualification: 33%

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications19%

Apprenticeship7.6%

A levels or similar18%

Degree level33%

AshleyCambridgeshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Ashley, 19%, while 33% hold one at degree level (34%).

Neighbours

2 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Ashley

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

KentfordNewmarketBarrowRed LodgeExningCock and EndFordhamAshley

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Ashley	676	—	43.7	19%	29%
Kentford	1,124	3.3 mi	39.9	19%	34%
Newmarket	18,857	3.8 mi	40.2	18%	23%
Barrow	1,961	4.4 mi	45.3	25%	27%
Red Lodge	5,771	5.6 mi	30.9	6.1%	38%
Exning	2,049	5.7 mi	40.2	18%	30%
Cock and End	1,346	6.1 mi	34.9	3%	21%
Fordham	2,566	7.2 mi	44.5	21%	29%

More about Ashley’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

“Cambridgeshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cambridgeshire (or England), summed the same way as Ashley’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 Ashley’s residents

What is the population of Ashley?

The 2021 Census counted 676 people in Ashley’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Ashley?

The median age was 43.7 at the 2021 Census. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Ashley?

86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Ashley?

39% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8.3% didn’t answer.

Is Ashley good for families?

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