Photo: N Scott · CC BY-SA 2.0Peterborough is younger than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 35.9
With residents with no religion at 32%, Peterborough is behind 90% of UK towns on that count. The city is home to 190,592 residents in 74,231 households, by the 2021 Census. Here, nearly a fifth of households live in a flat or apartment. On shared households of unrelated adults, Peterborough sits higher than 95% of UK towns: 4.5%.
What the Census says about Peterborough’s people
More born abroad than most towns
31% of residents were born outside the UK, against 22% across Cambridgeshire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (17%) and in the Middle East and Asia (8.3%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
44% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 97% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (17%), Pakistani (8.8%) and Mixed or multiple (3.7%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A city of families
35% of Peterborough’s 74,231 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 94% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Peterborough’s residents are under 35.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
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.
+23% since 2011, a pace 89% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Peterborough’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 162,500 people in 2011; 199,500 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2016: 4,480 more people. Of the age groups, 0 to 15 changed most (+32%) and 16 to 29 least (+2%).
Peterborough sits below 94% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (13%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11%, against 12% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. 30–34 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Peterborough, 35.9. 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.
6.2% of adults are full-time students, a share 86% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 11%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A higher share of households with dependent children than 94% of UK towns, at 35%
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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Peterborough, 2.5. For households with dependent children, the comparison across England’s towns is 29%. On the census count, 28% of households are one person living alone.
Households in detached houses make up 25% in Peterborough, less than in 61% 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
Households without a car or van are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 24%. 19% of households live in a flat, more than in 80% of UK towns; 25% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. For Peterborough, the census puts households in terraced houses at 23%.
31% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 98% 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 40%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns, 90% of residents have English as their main language; in Peterborough, 78%. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (17%) or in the Middle East and Asia (8.3%).
56% of residents describe themselves as White British, below 97% 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: 56% of Peterborough · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
14% of residents are Muslim. On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Peterborough sits lower than 77% of UK towns: 45%. By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
39% of adults have never married, more than in 87% 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
4,488 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. On unpaid carers, Peterborough sits lower than 85% of UK towns: 7.9%. Married adults and civil partners make up 43%, against 44% across England’s towns.
Among adults, 26% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Peterborough, 23%, while 26% hold one at degree level (34%). Many still at university: 15% list A levels as their highest qualification.
From a median age of 32 in Central Park to 54 in Stilton, Elton & Folksworth
The city’s 21 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Stilton, Elton & Folksworth is the oldest area, with 28% aged 65 or over; Central Park the youngest (median age 32). Families with children are most common in Hampton Vale (49% of households).
11th youngest of 38 UK towns of 133,000 to 257,000 people
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 Cambridge (31.9), the youngest, and Poole (44.6), the oldest. Nearest to Peterborough in age: Slough (35.3), Reading (35.7), Westminster (35.9) and York (36).
No nearby town is as young as Peterborough
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peterborough | 190,592 | — | 35.9 | 13% | 35% |
| Farcet | 1,596 | 3 mi | 45.6 | 21% | 27% |
| Eye | 5,419 | 3.7 mi | 40 | 19% | 32% |
| Castor and Ailsworth | 1,461 | 3.7 mi | 49.7 | 25% | 26% |
| Yaxley | 9,403 | 4.1 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 33% |
| Newborough | 1,469 | 4.4 mi | 45.7 | 22% | 32% |
| Glinton | 1,743 | 4.4 mi | 49.5 | 24% | 30% |
| Helpston | 1,249 | 5.5 mi | 45 | 19% | 35% |
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 Peterborough’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. Peterborough’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 191,887 people in 2021, against 190,592 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 Peterborough’s residents
What is the population of Peterborough?
The 2021 Census counted 190,592 people in Peterborough’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 199,500 people in mid-2024, 23% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Peterborough?
The median age was 35.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 13% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Peterborough?
56% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 31% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Peterborough?
32% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 14% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Peterborough good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Hampton Vale (49% of households). Schools are on Peterborough’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.