Photo: Jonathan Clitheroe · CC BY-SA 2.0In Disley, 7.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 98% of UK towns
56% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. In 2021, the Census found 3,891 residents in Disley, living in 1,717 households. Across Disley, just over a quarter of households have dependent children. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 43% here, more than in just over four fifths of UK towns.
Half of Disley is over 47.8, older than 73% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 8.5% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over: 24% of the total.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Disley, 47.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Disley sits below 87% of UK towns for full-time students (3.9%)
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, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier; in Disley, 8.3%. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Below 76% of UK towns: 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home
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.
28% of households are one person living alone (England’s towns: 30%). Across England’s towns, shared households of unrelated adults come to 4.3%. Average household size: 2.3 people.
Disley ranks below 81% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 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
Where 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Disley has 9.9%. Census figures put households in terraced houses at 19% here. As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Above 75% 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
Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 8.5%. By way of comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 5.4% of residents were born outside the UK.
More residents with no religion than 70% of UK towns: 44%
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: 93% of Disley · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (3%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and Chinese (0.8%). Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian; in Disley, 49%.
Fewer adults who have never married than 85% of UK towns: 27%
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 82 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. Few places have so few unpaid carers: 8.9% here, fewer than in 64% of UK towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 46%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 46% of Disley’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 11% have no qualification (18%).
Among 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, the 218th 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 64.6 in Milford on Sea. Nearest to Disley in age: Askam in Furness (47.8), Cross Hills (47.8), Whitwell (47.8) and Elm and Emneth (47.8).
Disley and its 7 nearest towns: 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disley | 3,891 | — | 47.8 | 24% | 26% |
| New Mills | 9,195 | 1.5 mi | 45.3 | 20% | 25% |
| High Lane | 4,617 | 1.5 mi | 57.2 | 37% | 19% |
| Furness Vale | 1,069 | 1.9 mi | 51.2 | 24% | 22% |
| Whaley Bridge | 4,618 | 2.8 mi | 49.6 | 23% | 24% |
| Marple | 12,963 | 2.8 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 27% |
| Marple Bridge | 4,702 | 3.2 mi | 49 | 26% | 29% |
| Poynton | 13,015 | 3.7 mi | 50.7 | 30% | 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 Disley’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 Disley’s residents
What is the population of Disley?
The 2021 Census counted 3,891 people in Disley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Disley?
The median age was 47.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 73% of UK towns. 7.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Disley?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 5.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Disley?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Disley good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Disley’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.