Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.024% of households are one person living alone, below 88% of UK towns
47% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census counted 1,823 residents in 691 households. The census found that nearly a third of households have dependent children in Meldreth. Households in flats are rarer here than in just over four fifths of UK towns.
Meldreth sits above 78% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (11%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Meldreth comes in at 21%. What’s more, with a median age of 43.7, Meldreth is younger than 56% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. 50–54 is the most common age band: 7.8% of residents.
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.
6% of adults are full-time students, more than in 84% of UK towns
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 43% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 17% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%. Locally, 7.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 88% of UK towns: 2.5 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.
2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%.
A smaller share of households without a car or van than 83% of UK towns: 9.8%
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 terraced houses trails 71% of UK towns: 15%. Across the comparison, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 64% of UK towns, at 8.1%
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
Of residents born abroad, 12% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. 98% of residents have English as their main language. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%.
88% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 73% 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: 88% of Meldreth · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 48%, below 60% of UK towns. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (6.8%), Mixed or multiple (2.2%) and Caribbean (0.4%).
54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 87% 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
Unpaid carers make up 8.1%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Locally, 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. As a yardstick, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 42% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 42% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 16% hold no qualification (18%).
Older than Meldreth: 5 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meldreth | 1,823 | — | 43.7 | 21% | 32% |
| Melbourn | 4,907 | 1.2 mi | 45.2 | 24% | 27% |
| Barrington | 1,184 | 2.6 mi | 48.7 | 23% | 27% |
| Orwell | 1,147 | 2.6 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 26% |
| Bassingbourn | 2,353 | 2.7 mi | 40.5 | 18% | 32% |
| Foxton | 1,275 | 2.7 mi | 47.1 | 24% | 29% |
| Fowlmere | 1,295 | 3 mi | 48.9 | 25% | 31% |
| Royston | 17,443 | 3.2 mi | 40.9 | 20% | 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 Meldreth’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 Meldreth’s residents
What is the population of Meldreth?
The 2021 Census counted 1,823 people in Meldreth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Meldreth?
The median age was 43.7 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Meldreth?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 8.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Meldreth?
42% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 8.8% didn’t answer.
Is Meldreth good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Meldreth’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.