Photo: Wheatley Hill · CC BY-SA 4.0Styal: 51% of households have dependent children, above 99% of UK towns
14% of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census counted 143 residents in 45 households. Locally, nearly a fifth of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Styal has fewer residents with no religion than 98% of UK towns, at 24%.
Styal is younger than 84% of UK towns: a median age of 39.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 40–44: 13% of residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. Locally, 9.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 20% in Styal, more than in 98% 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%.
6.3% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
16% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 99% 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.
2.2% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns. The benchmark for one-person households across England’s towns: 30%. Households average 3.1 people.
Households in detached houses make up 64% in Styal, more than in 98% of UK towns
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 share of households in terraced houses trails 96% of UK towns: 6.8%. Typically, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. Households without a car or van are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns.
Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Styal, more than in 72% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (3.5%) and in Africa (2.8%). Styal has more residents born outside the UK than 66% of UK towns, at 8.4%. To put it in context, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 97% of UK towns: 63%
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: 86% of Styal · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
86% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%. Muslims make up 4.2% of residents.
68% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 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
For 1 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. At 4.6%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in 99% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 53%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 53% of its adults qualified to degree level, Styal compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 11% hold no qualification (18%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 12%.
6 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Styal
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Styal | 143 | — | 39.2 | 14% | 51% |
| Wilmslow | 25,716 | 1.5 mi | 44.1 | 20% | 29% |
| Cheadle Hulme | 24,782 | 2.6 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 32% |
| Wythenshawe | 97,665 | 2.7 mi | 37.2 | 15% | 33% |
| Gatley | 9,149 | 2.8 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 33% |
| Alderley Edge | 4,496 | 3.2 mi | 50.7 | 29% | 22% |
| Cheadle | 14,437 | 3.4 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 27% |
| Bramhall | 17,201 | 3.4 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 Styal’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 Styal’s residents
What is the population of Styal?
The 2021 Census counted 143 people in Styal’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Styal?
The median age was 39.2 at the 2021 Census. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Styal?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 8.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Styal?
24% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 4.2% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is Styal good for families?
51% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Styal’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.