Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0

54.1Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Half of Hale is over 54.1, older than 95% of UK towns

Here nearly a fifth of households have dependent children, where the figure across England’s towns is 29%. Households in flats are rarer here than in 98% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 1,502 residents in 671 households. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian stands at 72%.

32%aged 65 or over 2.5%born abroad 671households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Hale’s people

54.1median age, older than 95% of UK towns 12%of residents give unpaid care; England’s towns 8.7%

Older than most towns

Half of Hale’s residents are under 54.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 32% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓

Many carers

170 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓

Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).

Ages

A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 98% of UK towns: 7.2%

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

HaleEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

65–69 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. The usual figure: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1512%

15 to 247.2%

25 to 4419%

45 to 6429%

65 and over32%

HaleCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

Hale

England

WomenMen

About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

A smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 99% of UK towns: 4.7%

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

Full-time students4.2%

Higher managerial and professional13%

Lower managerial and professional25%

Intermediate13%

Small employers and self-employed9.9%

Supervisory and technical6.6%

Semi-routine11%

Routine11%

Never worked or long-term unemployed7.6%

HaleCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Hale

4.8%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 4.7%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.3× England’s share

Full-time students: 4.2% here and 7.9% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 11% across England’s towns.

Households

2.2 people per household, fewer than in 66% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 18%Living alone, under 66 9.8%Families with dependent children 19%Couples and families, no young children 50%Shared houses and other 2.7%

Against Cheshire’s towns and England’s towns

Hale

Cheshire’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person29%

2 people41%

3 people15%

4 people11%

5 or more4.8%

England’s towns.

30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, against 28% in Hale. Few places have as many shared households of unrelated adults: 2.7% here, more than in 66% of UK towns.

Homes & cars

Below 68% of UK towns: 12% of households have no car or van

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Hale

Cheshire’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van12%

One44%

Two33%

Three or more11%

HaleCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

On households in terraced houses, 24% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Fewer households in detached houses than in 61% of UK towns: 25%. About one household in 8 lives without a car or van.

Where people were born

In Hale, 2.5% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 96% of UK towns

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%

Hale

2.5%

Cheshire’s towns

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.5%

Another main language, little or no English0.1%

HaleCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Set against 90% across England’s towns, 99% of residents have English as their main language in Hale. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.5%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.5%). The share of residents born outside the UK across England’s towns is 18%.

Ethnicity & religion

22% of residents said they have no religion, below 98% 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

HaleCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White2.2%

Asian0.1%

Mixed1.3%

Black0.1%

Other0.1%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 96% of Hale · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

HaleCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion22%

Christian72%

Muslim0.1%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.1%

Other religion0.7%

Didn’t answer4.5%

0%40%80%

Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and African (0.1%). Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in 90% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

Hale sits above 95% of UK towns for unpaid carers (12%)

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership27%

Married or civil partnership56%

Separated1.5%

Divorced7%

Widowed8.3%

HaleCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

170residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 12%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week4.4%

20 to 49 hours2.8%

50 hours or more4.6%

The share of married adults and civil partners tops 91% of UK towns: 56%. For Hale, the census puts adults who have never married at 27%. The comparison figure for unpaid carers is 8.7% across England’s towns.

Qualifications

The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 30%

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications19%

Apprenticeship6.8%

A levels or similar17%

Degree level30%

HaleCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

19% of Hale’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 30% have one at degree level (34%).

Neighbours

No nearby town is as old as Hale

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

Hale BankWidnesCrontonRuncornFrodshamEltonHelsbyHale

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Hale	1,502	—	54.1	32%	19%
Hale Bank	1,618	1.5 mi	41.4	19%	29%
Widnes	59,938	3.6 mi	41.5	18%	29%
Cronton	1,234	4.1 mi	53.6	30%	21%
Runcorn	61,641	4.1 mi	41.1	19%	28%
Frodsham	9,101	4.4 mi	49	27%	25%
Elton	3,293	4.4 mi	45.8	22%	25%
Helsby	5,278	4.6 mi	47.3	25%	24%

More about Hale’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health CLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute B⁻Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living COwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools DEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Hale’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 Hale’s residents

What is the population of Hale?

The 2021 Census counted 1,502 people in Hale’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Hale?

The median age was 54.1 at the 2021 Census. 7.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 32% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Hale?

96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 2.5% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Hale?

22% said they had no religion and 72% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.

Is Hale good for families?

19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hale’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.