Photo: Dave.Dunford · Public domainBelow 99% of UK towns: 0.4% of households live in a flat or apartment
6.1% of residents give unpaid care; across England’s towns the figure is 8.7%. Meanwhile, at 57%, the share of households in detached houses is higher than in 95% of UK towns. Rainow counted 619 residents and 248 households at the 2021 Census. The share of one-person households stands at 19%.
A median age of 47.1: Rainow is older than 69% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With residents aged 65 and over at 23%, Rainow is ahead of 60% of UK towns on that count. By contrast, 9.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a lower share than in 53% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Rainow, 4.1% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 82% 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%.
8.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Rainow households average 2.5 people, larger than in 89% 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.
Families with dependent children are 28% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 11% are someone 66 or over living alone (Cheshire’s towns 14%). The census found that 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Rainow.
A smaller share of households without a car or van than 99% of UK towns: 4%
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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house here.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 81% of UK towns: 99%
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Born outside the UK: 5.7% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.9%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). Against that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 95% in Rainow, more than in 79% 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
White British, not charted: 95% of Rainow · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 46% across England’s towns, 54% of residents describe themselves as Christian here. Next after White British come Other White (3.6%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Indian (0.2%). Fewer residents with no religion than in 52% of UK towns: 41%. As a reference point, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners: 65%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
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 giving 50 hours or more a week: 3. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are scarce here: 23%, fewer than in 97% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 55% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Rainow, 55%, and 9% have none, against 18%.
Around Rainow, 5 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainow | 619 | — | 47.1 | 23% | 28% |
| Bollington | 7,236 | 1.4 mi | 48.1 | 24% | 25% |
| Macclesfield | 54,352 | 3 mi | 44.1 | 20% | 25% |
| Prestbury | 2,629 | 3.1 mi | 54.6 | 33% | 25% |
| Whaley Bridge | 4,618 | 4.8 mi | 49.6 | 23% | 24% |
| Poynton | 13,015 | 4.8 mi | 50.7 | 30% | 26% |
| Woodford | 2,241 | 5.2 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 36% |
| Disley | 3,891 | 5.5 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 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 Rainow’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 Rainow’s residents
What is the population of Rainow?
The 2021 Census counted 619 people in Rainow’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Rainow?
The median age was 47.1 at the 2021 Census. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rainow?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 5.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Rainow?
41% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Rainow good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Rainow’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.