Photo: David Weston · CC BY-SA 2.0In Congleton, 8.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 81% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%; Congleton has 53%. Here, 38% of households live in a detached house. Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than in just over three quarters of UK towns: 1.9%. The town counted 30,001 residents and 13,368 households at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Congleton’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Congleton at 27,800 in 2011 and 33,200 in 2024, up 20%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 85% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
From 2011 to 2024, Congleton outgrew 85% of UK towns: +20%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Congleton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 27,800 people in 2011; 33,200 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+37%) and the 45 to 64 least (+8%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2020 to mid-2021, 960 people.
23% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 60% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With a median age of 45.4, Congleton is older than 57% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 7.4% of residents. In Prestbury, the oldest of Cheshire’s towns by this measure, it is 33%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Congleton, 45.4. 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.
Full-time students make up 4.2% in Congleton, less than in 76% 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 10% in Congleton and 11% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 70% 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.
The share of one-person households tops 64% of UK towns: 31%. Households with dependent children: 26% of the total.
A lower share of households in flats than 61% of UK towns, at 8.9%
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 18% of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. Elsewhere, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. The census found that 14% of households have no car or van in Congleton.
Above 79% of UK towns: 99% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). To put it in context, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 4.4% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 72% of UK towns.
A higher White British share than 66% of UK towns: 94% of residents
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: 94% of Congleton · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (2.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.5%). Fewer residents with no religion than in 60% of UK towns: 40%. Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Congleton ranks above 57% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 49%
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
By its share of adults who have never married (31%), Congleton is below 56% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, married adults and civil partners come to 44%. On the census count, 9.2% of residents give unpaid care.
Qualified to degree level: 35% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Congleton, 35% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 16% have no qualification at all (18%).
From a median age of 34 in Cranage & Goostrey to 52 in Hightown, Mossley & Timbersbrook
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Hightown, Mossley & Timbersbrook is the oldest area, with 29% aged 65 or over; Cranage & Goostrey the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Gawsworth & Macclesfield Forest (46% of households).
Ranked by age, 50th oldest of 233 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.1 in Egham to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Congleton in age: Market Harborough (45.3), Stroud (45.3), Hailsham (45.4) and Rayleigh (45.5).
Median age: 6 of the 7 towns around Congleton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congleton | 30,001 | — | 45.4 | 23% | 26% |
| Biddulph | 17,490 | 3.9 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 25% |
| Scholar Green | 2,095 | 4.3 mi | 52.4 | 29% | 21% |
| Biddulph Moor | 1,286 | 4.4 mi | 56.5 | 36% | 14% |
| Harriseahead, Mow Cop and Newchapel | 3,637 | 4.5 mi | 47.9 | 23% | 25% |
| Rode Heath | 1,901 | 4.7 mi | 50.8 | 26% | 23% |
| Kidsgrove | 15,598 | 5.6 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 26% |
| Alsager | 15,504 | 6.2 mi | 47.2 | 27% | 26% |
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 Congleton’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. Congleton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 30,694 people in 2021, against 30,001 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 Congleton’s residents
What is the population of Congleton?
The 2021 Census counted 30,001 people in Congleton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 33,200 people in mid-2024, 20% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Congleton?
The median age was 45.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 57% of UK towns. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Congleton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Congleton?
40% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Congleton good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Gawsworth & Macclesfield Forest (46% of households). Schools are on Congleton’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.