Photo: Michael Trolove · CC BY-SA 2.08.3% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
Here 50% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. Sawtry counted 5,870 residents and 2,494 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, just over a quarter of households are one person living alone. 45% of residents said they have no religion, a higher share than in 76% of UK towns.
10% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 69% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Where 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, Sawtry has 20%. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. No age band is larger than 50–54: nearly one in ten residents. Half of the town’s residents are under 43.6, younger than in 57% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Sawtry, 43.6. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
In Sawtry, 4.5% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 65% 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 38% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 21% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 8.2% in Sawtry.
Sawtry households average 2.4 people, larger than in 67% 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.
Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%; Sawtry has 2%. At 28%, the share of households with dependent children is higher than in just over three fifths of UK towns.
Households in flats: 4%, a lower share than 88% 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
11% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%.
Sawtry sits above 63% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (7.8%)
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.7%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.8%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 97% of residents have English as their main language (England’s towns: 90%).
Sawtry sits below 66% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (47%)
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 Sawtry · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (4%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and African (0.6%). Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%. 92% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners make up 51% in Sawtry, more than in 67% 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
With adults who have never married at 31%, Sawtry is behind 60% of UK towns on that count. Measured more widely, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Census figures put unpaid carers at 8% locally.
Degree-level qualifications reach 29% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 29% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 15% hold no qualification (18%).
209th lowest median age among 624 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Sawtry in age: Astley (43.6), Castle Donington (43.6), Lawford (43.6) and Whitchurch (43.6).
Sawtry and its 7 nearest towns: 5 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sawtry | 5,870 | — | 43.6 | 20% | 28% |
| Stilton | 2,365 | 3.7 mi | 45.7 | 22% | 27% |
| Alconbury | 1,464 | 4.9 mi | 50.8 | 26% | 21% |
| Alconbury Weald | 1,222 | 5.1 mi | 31.2 | 3.3% | 46% |
| Yaxley | 9,403 | 5.7 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 33% |
| Bury | 1,750 | 7.2 mi | 44 | 21% | 31% |
| Warmington | 1,045 | 7.2 mi | 50.7 | 27% | 26% |
| Farcet | 1,596 | 7.4 mi | 45.6 | 21% | 27% |
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 Sawtry’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 Sawtry’s residents
What is the population of Sawtry?
The 2021 Census counted 5,870 people in Sawtry’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sawtry?
The median age was 43.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 57% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sawtry?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 7.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sawtry?
45% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Sawtry good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sawtry’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.