Photo: Peter S · CC BY-SA 2.0No religion: 49% of residents, a higher share than 92% of UK towns
One in ten households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%). Willingham had 3,912 residents and 1,659 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 42.2 (younger than just over two thirds of UK towns). Here, 48% of households live in a detached house. Few places have as many married adults and civil partners: 51% here, more than in 72% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Willingham’s people
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 42% 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).
9% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 76% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 45–49, with 8% of residents. The median age in Willingham is 42.2, lower than in just over two thirds of UK towns. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. On residents aged 65 and over, 18% here is much the same as across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Willingham, 42.2. 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.
Willingham: 5.5% of adults are full-time students, above 75% 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%.
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 8.1% in Willingham and 11% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
In Willingham, 26% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 77% 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, households average 2.4 people; in Willingham, 2.4. Compared with other places, households with dependent children are common here: 31%, more than in four fifths of UK towns. For one-person households, the comparison across England’s towns is 30%. The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 2.2%.
Willingham ranks below 77% of UK towns on households in flats: 6.2%
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
Across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%; Willingham has 19%. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Above 74% of UK towns: 10% of residents were born outside the UK
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
Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 18%. Lower than in 64% of UK towns: 97% of residents have English as their main language. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (4.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.1%).
A smaller share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 88% of UK towns: 42%
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: 86% of Willingham · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (6.6%), Mixed or multiple (2.4%) and African (0.9%). Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as White British: 86% here, fewer than in three quarters of UK towns. Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
32% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 51% 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
75 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 62% of UK towns. As a reference point, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 41% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 41% of adults in Willingham, 34% across England’s towns; 13% have no qualification, against 18%.
Ranked by age, 98th youngest of 530 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Milford on Sea the oldest (64.6). Nearest to Willingham in age: Ruabon (42.1), Langwith (42.2), Honeybourne (42.2) and Northway (42.2).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Willingham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willingham | 3,912 | — | 42.2 | 18% | 31% |
| Over | 2,898 | 1.7 mi | 47.5 | 23% | 31% |
| Longstanton and Northstowe | 5,278 | 2.3 mi | 35.5 | 9.3% | 40% |
| Swavesey | 2,739 | 3 mi | 41.5 | 18% | 32% |
| Cottenham | 6,156 | 3.2 mi | 44.8 | 22% | 29% |
| Earith | 1,656 | 3.2 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Oakington | 1,494 | 3.6 mi | 46.6 | 25% | 29% |
| Bluntisham and Colne | 2,790 | 3.7 mi | 49.5 | 24% | 27% |
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 Willingham’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 Willingham’s residents
What is the population of Willingham?
The 2021 Census counted 3,912 people in Willingham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Willingham?
The median age was 42.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 68% of UK towns. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Willingham?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Willingham?
49% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Willingham good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Willingham’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.