Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0Helpston ranks above 93% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 35%
Compared with 39% across England’s towns, 27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. At the 2021 Census Helpston was home to 1,249 people in 484 households. For Helpston, the census puts households without a car or van at 5.8%. 6.2% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 97% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Helpston’s people
A village of families
35% of Helpston’s 484 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 93% 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).
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 73% of UK towns, at 9.1%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, against 19% in Helpston. Still, the median age here is 45, higher than in 54% of UK towns. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Helpston sits above 77% of UK towns for full-time students (5.6%)
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 47% of Helpston’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 15%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Nearly one in ten residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 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.
Fewer people live alone than in 98% of UK towns: 20% of households
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.
4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, against 2.9% in Helpston. Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone. Households here average 2.6 people each.
More households in detached houses than 96% of UK towns: 59%
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
Flats are home to 2.9% of households, against 23% across England’s towns. Typically, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Helpston ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 100%
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). 4.8% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 66% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Helpston ranks above 60% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 93%
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: 93% of Helpston · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (3.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and African (0.6%). Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%. Residents with no religion: 42% here and 37% across England’s towns.
57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 94% of UK towns don’t reach
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 26. Elsewhere, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Against a figure of 8.7% across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers in Helpston comes in at 9.7%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 41% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 41% of adults in Helpston, 34% across England’s towns; 9% have no qualification, against 18%.
No nearby town is as young as Helpston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helpston | 1,249 | — | 45 | 19% | 35% |
| Glinton | 1,743 | 2.2 mi | 49.5 | 24% | 30% |
| Barnack | 1,007 | 2.6 mi | 45.7 | 22% | 29% |
| Northborough | 1,336 | 2.8 mi | 53.4 | 33% | 26% |
| Market Deeping | 6,533 | 3.4 mi | 46.8 | 25% | 27% |
| Deeping St James | 7,255 | 3.6 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 27% |
| Castor and Ailsworth | 1,461 | 4.2 mi | 49.7 | 25% | 26% |
| Langtoft | 2,010 | 4.3 mi | 50 | 25% | 29% |
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 Helpston’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 Helpston’s residents
What is the population of Helpston?
The 2021 Census counted 1,249 people in Helpston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Helpston?
The median age was 45 at the 2021 Census. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Helpston?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 4.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Helpston?
42% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Helpston good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Helpston’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.