Photo: John Welford · CC BY-SA 2.081% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 84% of UK towns
Where 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns, Ely has 20%. Few places have as many households in flats: 14% here, more than in 67% of UK towns. Its 8,480 households held 19,185 residents at the 2021 Census. Unpaid carers: 7.5% of the total.
Slower than most: +5% since 2011, behind 61% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ely’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 19,300 people in 2011; 20,300 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 45 to 64 changed most (+29%) and 30 to 44 least (−12%). In one year, mid-2022 to mid-2023, the population rose by 480, the most of any year.
Younger than 64% of UK towns: half of Ely is under 42.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 9.6%, against 12% across England’s towns. For Ely, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 20%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ely, 42.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
5.3% of adults are full-time students, a share 67% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 11%, close to the figure across England’s towns. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 65% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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.
30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, against 32% in Ely. In Ely, 2.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Higher than in 58% of UK towns: 28% of households have dependent children.
A larger share of households in terraced houses than 73% of UK towns: 26%
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
In Ely, a third of households live in a detached house, beside 21% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
93% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 86% 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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (8.2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.9%). As a yardstick, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born outside the UK are more common here than in 88% of UK towns. Since 2017: 21% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
44% said they have no religion, more than in 71% 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: 81% of Ely · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
46% of residents describe themselves as Christian, about the same as across England’s towns. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%. The largest groups after White British are Other White (11%), Mixed or multiple (3.1%) and Indian (1.1%).
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 59% of UK towns, at 49%
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
For 388 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. Few places have as many adults who have never married: 32% here, more than in 51% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 44% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 44% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 14% hold no qualification (18%).
Among 336 UK towns of 13,000 to 26,000 people, the 125th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Ely in age: Elland (42.7), Birstall (42.7), Halstead (42.7) and Newquay (42.7).
4 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Ely
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ely | 19,185 | — | 42.7 | 20% | 28% |
| Little Downham | 1,234 | 2.2 mi | 49.3 | 26% | 27% |
| Witchford | 2,386 | 2.7 mi | 45.7 | 23% | 28% |
| Littleport | 9,170 | 4 mi | 38.6 | 17% | 30% |
| Stretham | 2,070 | 4.2 mi | 44.7 | 20% | 26% |
| Soham | 10,609 | 5.5 mi | 38.9 | 17% | 32% |
| Haddenham | 3,050 | 5.8 mi | 47.3 | 23% | 27% |
| Sutton | 3,880 | 6.1 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 30% |
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 Ely’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Ely’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 19,348 people in 2021, against 19,185 in the built-up area.
- 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 Ely’s residents
What is the population of Ely?
The 2021 Census counted 19,185 people in Ely’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 20,300 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ely?
The median age was 42.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 64% of UK towns. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ely?
81% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 16% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ely?
44% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Ely good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ely’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.