Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of households in flats than 93% of UK towns, at 3%
Across England’s towns, 21% of households live in a detached house; in Cottenham, 42%. Locally, 85% of residents describe themselves as White British. More married adults and civil partners than in two thirds of UK towns: 51%. The town is home to 6,156 residents in 2,645 households, by the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Cottenham’s people
More with no religion than most
47% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 44% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
9.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 71% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 8.4% of residents. The median age in Cottenham is 44.8, higher than in 52% of UK towns. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over: 22% here and 18% across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cottenham, 44.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Cottenham sits above 70% of UK towns for full-time students (5.4%)
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 44% of Cottenham’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 17%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The census found that 9.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in the town.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A higher share of one-person households than 63% of UK towns, at 31%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cambridgeshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
In Cottenham, 2.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, beside 4.3% across England’s towns. For one-person households, the comparison across England’s towns is 30%. The census found that 29% of households have dependent children in the town.
Cottenham ranks below 72% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 12%
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
Where nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, Cottenham has 19%. Every 9th household or so has no car or van.
In Cottenham, 13% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 82% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
20% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. In Cottenham, 95% of residents have English as their main language. By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
47% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 86% of UK towns
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: 85% of Cottenham · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 46% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian in Cottenham comes in at 44%. The largest groups after White British are Other White (8%), Mixed or multiple (2.7%) and Indian (1%). The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 65% of UK towns, at 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
Some 109 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 8.6%, fewer than in 70% of UK towns. Across the comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Among adults, 43% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Cottenham, 15%, while 43% hold one at degree level (34%).
Ranked by age, 263rd youngest of 624 UK towns this size
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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Cottenham in age: Crowland (44.8), Ramsey (44.8), Yatton (44.8) and Chudleigh (44.8).
Nearby, 3 of 7 towns have older populations than Cottenham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottenham | 6,156 | — | 44.8 | 22% | 29% |
| Histon and Impington | 7,781 | 2.7 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 28% |
| Oakington | 1,494 | 2.8 mi | 46.6 | 25% | 29% |
| Willingham | 3,912 | 3.2 mi | 42.2 | 18% | 31% |
| Waterbeach | 5,375 | 3.2 mi | 38.1 | 16% | 31% |
| Longstanton and Northstowe | 5,278 | 3.2 mi | 35.5 | 9.3% | 40% |
| Milton | 4,150 | 3.4 mi | 41.5 | 17% | 26% |
| Girton | 4,384 | 4 mi | 45.1 | 25% | 28% |
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.
- “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 Cottenham’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 Cottenham’s residents
What is the population of Cottenham?
The 2021 Census counted 6,156 people in Cottenham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Cottenham?
The median age was 44.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 52% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cottenham?
85% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cottenham?
47% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 7.1% didn’t answer.
Is Cottenham good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cottenham’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.