Photo: Iantresman · CC BY-SA 4.0A median age of 38.1: Wheelock is younger than 89% of UK towns
The share of households with dependent children is 34%, against 29% across England’s towns. Wheelock is home to 2,155 residents in 908 households, by the 2021 Census. On the census count, nearly one in ten households have no car or van. Fewer households in flats than in 87% of UK towns: 4.1%.
What the Census says about Wheelock’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Wheelock’s residents are under 38.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 9.5% are 15 to 24 and 15% are 65 or over. 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 15% in Wheelock, less than in 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
In Wheelock, 9.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, beside 12% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 35–39, with nearly one in ten residents.
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.
7.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 77% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in just over two in five adults here, routine and semi-routine work 20% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Full-time students account for 5.1%. Typically, 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.
Fewer people live alone than in 84% of UK towns: 25% 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.
The average household has 2.4 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Lower than in 70% of UK towns: 2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Households in terraced houses make up 18% in Wheelock, less than in 58% 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
Census figures put households in detached houses at 29% in Wheelock. On average, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Wheelock sits above 80% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%). Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns. At 4.6%, the share of residents born outside the UK is lower than in 70% of UK towns.
Wheelock ranks above 82% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 46%
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: 94% of Wheelock · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 47%, against 46% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Here, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British.
Wheelock ranks above 62% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 34%
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 52 residents. The wider picture: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in three fifths of UK towns. There is little gap on unpaid carers: 8.5%, about the same as across England’s towns.
Among adults, 38% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 38% of Wheelock’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 10% have no qualification (18%).
The towns around Wheelock are all older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheelock | 2,155 | — | 38.1 | 15% | 34% |
| Elworth | 7,646 | 1.2 mi | 41.3 | 16% | 32% |
| Sandbach | 11,289 | 1.2 mi | 47.3 | 25% | 23% |
| Winterley | 1,371 | 1.3 mi | 48.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Haslington | 5,042 | 2.3 mi | 49.2 | 25% | 25% |
| Crewe | 74,116 | 3.7 mi | 38.7 | 16% | 29% |
| Alsager | 15,504 | 3.8 mi | 47.2 | 27% | 26% |
| Rode Heath | 1,901 | 3.9 mi | 50.8 | 26% | 23% |
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 Wheelock’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 Wheelock’s residents
What is the population of Wheelock?
The 2021 Census counted 2,155 people in Wheelock’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Wheelock?
The median age was 38.1 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wheelock?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 4.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wheelock?
46% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Wheelock good for families?
34% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wheelock’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.