Photo: Ydam · CC BY 2.5Fewer family households than 91% of UK towns: 21% in Chelford
Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24; in Chelford, 7.7%. At the same time, 60% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a higher share than in 94% of UK towns. The village counted 1,377 residents and 654 households at the 2021 Census. Households in detached houses account for 58%.
What the Census says about Chelford’s people
A village people move to
14% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Many older residents
29% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 87% of UK towns; 18% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 29% in Chelford, more than in 87% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: 8.6% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. The median age in Chelford is 48.2, higher than in 75% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 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.
Full-time students make up 3% in Chelford, less than in 98% 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%.
Set against 11% across England’s towns, 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Chelford. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 91% of UK towns
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.
33% of households are one person living alone (England’s towns: 30%). Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than in 62% of UK towns: 2.1%.
A smaller share of households without a car or van than 82% of UK towns: 10%
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
7.9% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. Here, 17% of households live in a terraced house. On average, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Above 65% of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2%). Elsewhere, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The share of residents born outside the UK is 6.4%, against 18% across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 86% of UK towns: 33%
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: 91% of Chelford · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (3.2%), Mixed or multiple (2.5%) and Indian (1.2%). Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 91% in Chelford and 73% across England’s towns.
54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 85% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 36 residents. Chelford has fewer adults who have never married than 84% of UK towns, at 27%. Elsewhere, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. There is little gap on unpaid carers: 7.8%, about the same as across England’s towns.
48% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 48% of its adults qualified to degree level, Chelford compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 11% hold no qualification (18%).
Chelford and its 7 nearest towns: 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelford | 1,377 | — | 48.2 | 29% | 21% |
| Alderley Edge | 4,496 | 3 mi | 50.7 | 29% | 22% |
| Mobberley | 1,349 | 3.5 mi | 44.4 | 23% | 29% |
| Knutsford | 13,254 | 4.2 mi | 46.6 | 25% | 27% |
| Goostrey | 1,952 | 4.2 mi | 58.5 | 40% | 19% |
| Wilmslow | 25,716 | 4.4 mi | 44.1 | 20% | 29% |
| Prestbury | 2,629 | 5.6 mi | 54.6 | 33% | 25% |
| Holmes Chapel | 6,674 | 5.9 mi | 47.8 | 27% | 29% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Chelford’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 Chelford’s residents
What is the population of Chelford?
The 2021 Census counted 1,377 people in Chelford’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Chelford?
The median age was 48.2 at the 2021 Census. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Chelford?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 6.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Chelford?
33% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 4.3% didn’t answer.
Is Chelford good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Chelford’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.