Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0A smaller share of households without a car or van than 96% of UK towns: 6.9%
With married adults and civil partners at 57%, Hardwick is ahead of 94% of UK towns on that count. The town counted 2,658 residents and 1,086 households at the 2021 Census. Households in terraced houses account for 12%. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as White British: 81% here, fewer than in 84% of UK towns.
+15% since 2011, a pace 75% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Hardwick’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,700 people in 2011; 3,100 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+126%) and the 45 to 64 group least (−5%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 180 people.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 80% of UK towns, at 18%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across England’s towns is 12%. At the same time, the median age in Hardwick is 44.1, lower than in 53% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Hardwick, 44.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More students than 76% of UK towns: 5.6% of adults in Hardwick
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 48% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 17% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year are more common here than in 87% of UK towns. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Below 94% of UK towns: 23% of households are one person living alone
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.
A household here has 2.4 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 2.8% in Hardwick. This Cambridgeshire town has more households with dependent children than 64% of UK towns, at 29%. Set beside that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
In Hardwick, 3.3% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 92% of UK towns
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 share of households in detached houses is 36%, against 21% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Fewer residents whose main language is English than 85% of UK towns: 93%
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
Since 2017: 18% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English: 90% across England’s towns, for comparison. On the census count, 16% of residents were born outside the UK.
In Hardwick, 42% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 57% 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 Hardwick · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (9.5%), Mixed or multiple (3.2%) and Indian (2.3%). Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. At 46%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in 72% of UK towns.
In Hardwick, 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 66% 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
For 46 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 8.9%, fewer than in 64% of UK towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 45%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 45% of its adults qualified to degree level, Hardwick compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 9.8% hold no qualification (18%).
Among 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people, the 141st youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Keele (20.6) and the oldest West Chiltington (63.1). Nearest to Hardwick in age: Wolston (44), Hatton (44.1), Colden Common (44.1) and Llanbradach (44.1).
5 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Hardwick
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardwick | 2,658 | — | 44.1 | 18% | 29% |
| Highfields Caldecote | 2,049 | 1.3 mi | 41.6 | 15% | 41% |
| Comberton | 2,255 | 2 mi | 47.8 | 25% | 29% |
| Bar Hill | 3,899 | 2.7 mi | 44.2 | 21% | 25% |
| Cambourne | 11,071 | 3 mi | 34.5 | 5.4% | 52% |
| Girton | 4,384 | 3.6 mi | 45.1 | 25% | 28% |
| Oakington | 1,494 | 4.3 mi | 46.6 | 25% | 29% |
| Haslingfield | 1,535 | 4.7 mi | 47 | 23% | 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 Hardwick’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. Hardwick’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,658 people in 2021, against 2,658 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 Hardwick’s residents
What is the population of Hardwick?
The 2021 Census counted 2,658 people in Hardwick’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,100 people in mid-2024, 15% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Hardwick?
The median age was 44.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 53% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hardwick?
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 Hardwick?
42% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Hardwick good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hardwick’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.