Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0Wisbech ranks below 93% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 39%
Here 57% of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across England’s towns is 46%. Still, half of Wisbech’s residents are under 41.7, younger than in 71% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 26,800, in 11,412 households. For Wisbech, the census puts households in terraced houses at 15%.
What the Census says about Wisbech’s people
More born abroad than most towns
27% 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 (24%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). Where people were born ↓
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.
A +10% change since 2011: Wisbech grew faster than 60% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wisbech’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 25,700 people in 2011; 28,300 in 2024.
The 30 to 44 age group changed most (+20%) and the 16 to 29 least (−16%). Between mid-2015 and mid-2016 the population rose by 640, its biggest one-year gain.
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 81% of UK towns: 11%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 50–54: 7% of residents. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. 20% of residents are 65 or over, a lower share than in 63% of UK towns. In Buckden, the oldest of Cambridgeshire’s towns by this measure, it is 30%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wisbech, 41.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Wisbech sits below 80% of UK towns for full-time students (4.1%)
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%.
In Wisbech, 18% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 43% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. At 10%, the share of residents who moved in within the year is higher than in 75% of UK towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 4.7% in Wisbech, more than in 95% 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 average 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The comparison figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3% across England’s towns. One-person households account for 31%.
A higher share of households in flats than 77% of UK towns, at 17%
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
Here 35% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. In Wisbech, 25% of households have no car or van. As a yardstick, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
27% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 97% 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 35%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
18% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. The share of residents whose main language is English stands at 77%.
34% of residents said they have no religion, below 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: 72% of Wisbech · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (23%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and African (0.5%). Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion. Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than in 92% of UK towns: 72%.
Wisbech sits above 84% of UK towns for adults who have never married (38%)
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
Some 808 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. Lower than in 79% of UK towns: 8.3% of residents give unpaid care.
A degree-level qualification for 16% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Wisbech, 16%, and 32% have none, against 18%.
From a median age of 39 in Wisbech North to 52 in Marshland, Walpole & Walton
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Marshland, Walpole & Walton is the oldest area, with 29% aged 65 or over; Wisbech North the youngest (median age 39). Families with children are most common in Wisbech North (32% of households).
92nd lowest median age among 247 UK towns of 19,000 to 36,000
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 Egham (31.1), the youngest, and Rustington (56.2), the oldest. Nearest to Wisbech in age: Workington (41.7), Swadlincote (41.7), Ware (41.7) and Newport (41.7).
Every neighbour of Wisbech has an older population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisbech | 26,800 | — | 41.7 | 20% | 28% |
| Leverington | 1,694 | 1.7 mi | 47.2 | 29% | 25% |
| Elm and Emneth | 4,555 | 2 mi | 47.8 | 25% | 25% |
| Wisbech St Mary | 1,069 | 3 mi | 46.2 | 25% | 25% |
| Friday Bridge | 1,411 | 3.1 mi | 51.8 | 31% | 20% |
| Gorefield | 1,070 | 3.3 mi | 50.2 | 29% | 24% |
| Marshland St James | 1,025 | 3.5 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 24% |
| Walpole St Peter and Walpole St Andrew | 1,574 | 4.8 mi | 46.9 | 21% | 29% |
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 Wisbech’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. Wisbech’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 27,719 people in 2021, against 26,800 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 Wisbech’s residents
What is the population of Wisbech?
The 2021 Census counted 26,800 people in Wisbech’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 28,300 people in mid-2024, 10% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wisbech?
The median age was 41.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 71% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wisbech?
72% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 27% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wisbech?
34% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 6.7% didn’t answer.
Is Wisbech good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Wisbech North (32% of households). Schools are on Wisbech’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.