Photo: Keith Edkins · CC BY-SA 2.0Over sits above 98% of UK towns for households in detached houses (64%)
Here 9.1% of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. Married adults and civil partners account for 60%. Lower than in 97% of UK towns: 21% of households are one person living alone. The 2021 Census counted 2,898 residents in 1,162 households.
What the Census says about Over’s people
More with no religion than most
47% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 46% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
+7% since 2011: slower than 50% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Over’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,900 people in 2011; 3,100 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+49%) and the 0 to 15 least (−6%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 90 people.
Older than 72% of UK towns: half of Over is over 47.5
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: 8.6% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Across Over, 23% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Over, 47.5. 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.
Over sits below 82% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (7.2%)
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%.
5.7% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England’s towns. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.5 people per household, more than in 89% of UK towns
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.
Households with dependent children make up 31%, against 29% across England’s towns. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 2.4% in Over.
In Over, 7.4% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 94% 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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 4.5% of households live in a flat or apartment in Over. Measured more widely, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
98% of residents have English as their main language, a share 59% of UK towns don’t reach
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 (3.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%). For comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 6.9% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns.
In Over, 47% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 85% 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: 92% of Over · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (4.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (0.7%). Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 75% of UK towns: 46%. Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Set against 73% across England’s towns, 92% of residents describe themselves as White British in Over.
In Over, 24% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 96% 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
On unpaid carers, 8.9% here is much the same as across England’s towns. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 62.
Among adults, 43% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 43% of its adults qualified to degree level, Over compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 11% hold no qualification (18%).
514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people: this is the 234th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to Over in age: Belton (47.5), Water Orton (47.5), Drybrook (47.5) and Crowle (47.6).
Median age: 2 of the 7 towns around Over are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Over | 2,898 | — | 47.5 | 23% | 31% |
| Swavesey | 2,739 | 1.6 mi | 41.5 | 18% | 32% |
| Willingham | 3,912 | 1.7 mi | 42.2 | 18% | 31% |
| Needingworth | 2,059 | 2.4 mi | 51.7 | 28% | 24% |
| Longstanton and Northstowe | 5,278 | 2.6 mi | 35.5 | 9.3% | 40% |
| Bluntisham and Colne | 2,790 | 3 mi | 49.5 | 24% | 27% |
| Earith | 1,656 | 3 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Fenstanton | 3,015 | 3.7 mi | 43 | 22% | 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 Over’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. Over’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,898 people in 2021, against 2,898 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 Over’s residents
What is the population of Over?
The 2021 Census counted 2,898 people in Over’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,100 people in mid-2024, 7% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Over?
The median age was 47.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 72% of UK towns. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Over?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 6.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Over?
47% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Over good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Over’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.