Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0

53.6Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Half of Plumley is over 53.6, older than 95% of UK towns

Households in flats make up 1%, against 23% across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners account for 58%. At 22%, the share of households with dependent children is lower than in 88% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 700 residents in Plumley, living in 309 households.

29%aged 65 or over 5.9%born abroad 309households

Ages

Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.1%, a lower share than 92% of UK towns

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

PlumleyEngland’s towns

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

Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over; in Plumley, 29%. The wider picture: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1513%

15 to 248.1%

25 to 4417%

45 to 6433%

65 and over29%

PlumleyCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

Plumley

England

WomenMen

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

Students & newcomers

Fewer full-time students than 95% of UK towns: 3.5%

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 students3.5%

Higher managerial and professional21%

Lower managerial and professional26%

Intermediate11%

Small employers and self-employed17%

Supervisory and technical2.5%

Semi-routine8.4%

Routine7.1%

Never worked or long-term unemployed4.1%

PlumleyCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

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

Plumley

8.8%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 8.7%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

1.2× England’s share

Managerial and professional jobs take in 46% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 16% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.7%. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.

Households

A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 97% of UK towns, at 1.3%

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

Living alone, 66+ 15%Living alone, under 66 9.4%Families with dependent children 22%Couples and families, no young children 52%Shared houses and other 1.3%

Against Cheshire’s towns and England’s towns

Plumley

Cheshire’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person25%

2 people41%

3 people19%

4 people11%

5 or more4.5%

England’s towns.

In Plumley, a quarter of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3% across England’s towns. Average household size: 2.3 people.

Homes & cars

In Plumley, 59% of households live in a detached house, more than in 96% of UK towns

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

Type of home

Plumley

Cheshire’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van7.4%

One28%

Two44%

Three or more20%

PlumleyCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

15% of households live in a terraced house (England’s towns: 24%). Against that, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. The census found that 7.4% of households have no car or van in Plumley.

Where people were born

99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 77% 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%

Plumley

5.9%

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 well1.2%

Another main language, little or no English0.2%

PlumleyCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%). By way of comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 5.9% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

64% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 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

PlumleyCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White2.4%

Asian1%

Mixed2.6%

Black0.4%

Other0.1%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 93% of Plumley · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

PlumleyCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion30%

Christian64%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.6%

Other religion0%

Didn’t answer5.3%

0%40%80%

Against a figure of 73% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British in Plumley comes in at 93%. Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Locally, 30% of residents said they have no religion.

Relationships & caring

A smaller share of adults who have never married than 93% of UK towns: 25%

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 partnership25%

Married or civil partnership58%

Separated1%

Divorced8.7%

Widowed7.4%

PlumleyCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

65residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 9.8%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.1%

20 to 49 hours2.7%

50 hours or more2%

Some 13 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Across the comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Plumley has more unpaid carers than just over three fifths of UK towns, at 9.8%.

Qualifications

Adults with a degree-level qualification: 42%

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications12%

Apprenticeship4.9%

A levels or similar16%

Degree level42%

PlumleyCheshire’s townsEngland’s towns

In Plumley, 42% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 12% have no qualification at all (18%).

Neighbours

Plumley and its 7 nearest towns: 1 of them are older

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

Lostock GralamPickmereRudheathKnutsfordNorthwichGoostreyMobberleyPlumley

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Plumley	700	—	53.6	29%	22%
Lostock Gralam	2,719	1.7 mi	42.2	22%	30%
Pickmere	2,800	2.1 mi	48	23%	32%
Rudheath	4,803	3 mi	42.9	18%	26%
Knutsford	13,254	3 mi	46.6	25%	27%
Northwich	18,646	4.2 mi	38.3	15%	28%
Goostrey	1,952	4.5 mi	58.5	40%	19%
Mobberley	1,349	4.6 mi	44.4	23%	29%

More about Plumley’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery 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 Plumley’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 Plumley’s residents

What is the population of Plumley?

The 2021 Census counted 700 people in Plumley’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Plumley?

The median age was 53.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Plumley?

93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 5.9% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Plumley?

30% said they had no religion and 64% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.

Is Plumley good for families?

22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Plumley’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.