Photo: Sue Adair · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in flats make up 4.1% in Elton, less than in 87% of UK towns
46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 56% in Elton. This Cheshire town has fewer households with dependent children than 73% of UK towns, at 25%. Census day 2021: 3,293 residents and 1,455 households locally. The census found that nearly one in ten households have no car or van here.
What the Census says about Elton’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Elton at 3,000 in 2011 and 2,900 in 2024, down 3%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 93% 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.
−3% since 2011: slower than 93% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Elton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,000 people in 2011; 2,900 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+49%) and 30 to 44 least (−23%).
8.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 83% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 8.1% of residents. Half of Elton’s residents are over 45.8, older than in 60% of UK towns. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 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+
■ Elton, 45.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
3.8% of adults are full-time students, below 90% 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 share of residents who moved in within the year trails 94% of UK towns: 6.4%. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 62% 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 shared households of unrelated adults stands at 2.3%. One-person households are about as common here as across England’s towns: 30%.
A smaller share of households in terraced houses than 64% of UK towns: 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
The figure for households in detached houses is 32% in Elton and 21% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 60% of UK towns: 5.4%
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, 15%. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%).
Elton sits above 54% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (93%)
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 Elton · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (3.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (0.2%). Across the comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. At 37%, the share of residents with no religion is lower than in 74% of UK towns.
More unpaid carers than 82% of UK towns: 11%
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
Set against 39% across England’s towns, 32% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Elton. The benchmark for unpaid carers across England’s towns: 8.7%. In Elton, nearly half of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 28%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Elton, 28% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 18% have no qualification at all (18%).
Ranked by age, 207th youngest of 514 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 20.6 in Keele to 63.1 in West Chiltington. Nearest to Elton in age: Moira (45.7), Troedyrhiw and Pentrebach (45.7), Swanmore (45.8) and Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen (45.8).
Elton and its 7 nearest towns: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elton | 3,293 | — | 45.8 | 22% | 25% |
| Helsby | 5,278 | 1.8 mi | 47.3 | 25% | 24% |
| Mickle Trafford | 1,840 | 3.5 mi | 47.3 | 25% | 31% |
| Ellesmere Port | 65,425 | 4.1 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 29% |
| Frodsham | 9,101 | 4.2 mi | 49 | 27% | 25% |
| Hale | 1,502 | 4.4 mi | 54.1 | 32% | 19% |
| Guilden Sutton | 1,462 | 4.6 mi | 51.7 | 30% | 27% |
| Moston | 1,099 | 4.6 mi | 26.8 | 3.2% | 55% |
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 Elton’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. Elton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,970 people in 2021, against 3,293 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 Elton’s residents
What is the population of Elton?
The 2021 Census counted 3,293 people in Elton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 2,900 people in mid-2024, 3% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Elton?
The median age was 45.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 60% of UK towns. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Elton?
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 Elton?
37% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Elton good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Elton’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. 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.