Photo: Geotek at English Wikipedia · Public domainA median age of 50.7: Alderley Edge is older than 88% of UK towns
With households with dependent children at 22%, Alderley Edge is behind 89% of UK towns on that count. There were 2,084 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 4,496 residents. Across Alderley Edge, a third of residents said they have no religion. This Cheshire town has more one-person households than 95% of UK towns, at 38%.
What the Census says about Alderley Edge’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Alderley Edge’s residents are under 50.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
29% of Alderley Edge is 65 or over, a higher share than 87% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 7.7% of residents. Lower than in 85% of UK towns: 8.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Prestbury, the oldest of Cheshire’s towns by this measure, it is 33%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Alderley Edge, 50.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 95% of UK towns: 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Alderley Edge, 50% and 11%. At 5.2%, the share of full-time students is higher than in nearly two thirds of UK towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 93% of UK towns: 2.1 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cheshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.6%, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
Households in flats: 23%, a higher share than 89% 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
Detached houses are home to a third of households, against 21% across England’s towns. At 13%, the share of households without a car or van is lower than in 62% of UK towns. Across Alderley Edge, 17% of households live in a terraced house.
Alderley Edge sits above 75% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (10%)
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (3.9%) and in EU countries (3.6%). On residents whose main language is English, Alderley Edge sits lower than 70% of UK towns: 96%. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Arrivals from 2017 on account for 22% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 55%, a higher share than 80% 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: 86% of Alderley Edge · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (5.2%), Mixed or multiple (3%) and Pakistani (1.1%). As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are scarce here: 86%, fewer than in just over three quarters of UK towns.
Alderley Edge ranks below 69% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 30%
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
Unpaid carers: 7.5% here and 8.7% across England’s towns. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Qualified to degree level: 50% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 50% of its adults qualified to degree level, Alderley Edge compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 11% hold no qualification (18%).
Among 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, the 129th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.7 in Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe. Nearest to Alderley Edge in age: Banks (50.6), Holton le Clay (50.6), Pulborough (50.7) and Tenbury Wells (50.8).
Nearby, 1 of 7 towns have older populations than Alderley Edge
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alderley Edge | 4,496 | — | 50.7 | 29% | 22% |
| Wilmslow | 25,716 | 1.7 mi | 44.1 | 20% | 29% |
| Chelford | 1,377 | 3 mi | 48.2 | 29% | 21% |
| Prestbury | 2,629 | 3.5 mi | 54.6 | 33% | 25% |
| Woodford | 2,241 | 4.1 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 36% |
| Mobberley | 1,349 | 4.1 mi | 44.4 | 23% | 29% |
| Cheadle Hulme | 24,782 | 5 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 32% |
| Macclesfield | 54,352 | 5 mi | 44.1 | 20% | 25% |
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.
- “Cheshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cheshire (or England), summed the same way as Alderley Edge’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 Alderley Edge’s residents
What is the population of Alderley Edge?
The 2021 Census counted 4,496 people in Alderley Edge’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Alderley Edge?
The median age was 50.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 88% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Alderley Edge?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Alderley Edge?
33% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.2% were Muslim and 7.7% didn’t answer.
Is Alderley Edge good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Alderley Edge’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.