Photo: John Sutton · CC BY-SA 2.0A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 85% of UK towns: 8.6%
Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; in Melbourn, 28%. 45% of residents said they have no religion, a higher share than in 74% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 4,907 residents and 2,127 households here. Households in flats: 6.6% of the total.
24% of Melbourn is 65 or over, a higher share than 67% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 7.2% of residents. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. With a median age of 45.2, Melbourn is older than 55% of UK towns. In Buckden, the oldest of Cambridgeshire’s towns by this measure, it is 30%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Melbourn, 45.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 69% of UK towns: 4.4% of adults are full-time students
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%.
Across England’s towns, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier; in Melbourn, 10%. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Above 62% of UK towns: 2.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home
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.
27% of households have dependent children; across England’s towns the figure is 29%. Households here average 2.3 people each. For comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Households in detached houses: 37%, a higher share than 71% 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 without a car or van trails two thirds of UK towns: 12%. On average, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses account for 17%.
Melbourn sits above 67% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (8.5%)
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.9%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 97% of residents have English as their main language, against 90% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 90%, a lower share than 66% 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: 90% of Melbourn · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (5.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and Indian (0.7%). Residents who describe themselves as White British: 73% across England’s towns, for comparison. 47% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 66% of UK towns.
Married adults and civil partners make up 54% in Melbourn, more than in 83% 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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 95 people. Measured more widely, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Few places have so few unpaid carers: 8.5% here, fewer than in 73% of UK towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 40%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Melbourn, 40%, and 15% have none, against 18%.
Among 810 UK towns of 3,000 to 7,000 people, the 323rd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Melbourn in age: Coedpoeth (45.1), Kempsey (45.2), Langford (45.2) and Tutshill and Sedbury (45.2).
Melbourn is younger than 4 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourn | 4,907 | — | 45.2 | 24% | 27% |
| Meldreth | 1,823 | 1.2 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 32% |
| Fowlmere | 1,295 | 2.3 mi | 48.9 | 25% | 31% |
| Royston | 17,443 | 2.7 mi | 40.9 | 20% | 29% |
| Foxton | 1,275 | 2.8 mi | 47.1 | 24% | 29% |
| Bassingbourn | 2,353 | 3.2 mi | 40.5 | 18% | 32% |
| Barrington | 1,184 | 3.2 mi | 48.7 | 23% | 27% |
| Orwell | 1,147 | 3.8 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
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 Melbourn’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 Melbourn’s residents
What is the population of Melbourn?
The 2021 Census counted 4,907 people in Melbourn’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Melbourn?
The median age was 45.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 55% of UK towns. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Melbourn?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 8.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Melbourn?
45% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Melbourn good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Melbourn’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.