Photo: Peter McDermott · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 54.6: Prestbury is older than 96% of UK towns
Against a figure of 21% across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in Prestbury comes in at 71%. On the census count, a fifth of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Lower than in 89% of UK towns: 9.9% of households live in a terraced house. At the 2021 Census Prestbury was home to 2,629 people in 1,145 households.
What the Census says about Prestbury’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Prestbury’s residents are under 54.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 33% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 33% in Prestbury, more than in 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
8.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Prestbury, 54.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Prestbury sits above 68% of UK towns for full-time students (5.3%)
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%.
In Prestbury, 56% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 7.9% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across Prestbury, 9.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Fewer people live alone than in 82% of UK towns: 26% of households
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.
Against a figure of 29% across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children in Prestbury comes in at 25%. On average, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Locally, 1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Only 7.1% of households in Prestbury 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
Cars or vans · share of households
Flats are home to nearly one in ten households, against 23% across England’s towns. Add to that, every 14th household or so has no car or van.
8.5% born outside the UK, more than in 67% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
13% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English: 98% of the total.
Prestbury ranks above 98% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 65%
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: 90% of Prestbury · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Asked about religion, 28% answered none, against 37% across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 46% across England’s towns. On the census count, 90% of residents describe themselves as White British.
More married adults and civil partners than 99% of UK towns: 63%
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
Unpaid carers are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 7.8%. Across the comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 59 residents.
54% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 54% of adults in Prestbury, 34% across England’s towns; 8.9% have no qualification, against 18%.
Ranked by age, 33rd oldest of 514 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to Prestbury in age: Long Melford (54.5), Martlesham Heath (54.5), Combe Martin (54.6) and Collingham (54.7).
Every neighbour of Prestbury has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prestbury | 2,629 | — | 54.6 | 33% | 25% |
| Bollington | 7,236 | 1.9 mi | 48.1 | 24% | 25% |
| Macclesfield | 54,352 | 2.2 mi | 44.1 | 20% | 25% |
| Alderley Edge | 4,496 | 3.5 mi | 50.7 | 29% | 22% |
| Woodford | 2,241 | 3.6 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 36% |
| Poynton | 13,015 | 4.2 mi | 50.7 | 30% | 26% |
| Wilmslow | 25,716 | 4.4 mi | 44.1 | 20% | 29% |
| Bramhall | 17,201 | 5.4 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 29% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Prestbury’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 Prestbury’s residents
What is the population of Prestbury?
The 2021 Census counted 2,629 people in Prestbury’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Prestbury?
The median age was 54.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 96% of UK towns. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Prestbury?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 8.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Prestbury?
28% said they had no religion and 65% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Prestbury good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Prestbury’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.