Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.015% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
38% of households are one person living alone; across England’s towns the figure is 30%. At the 2021 Census Ambleside was home to 2,624 people in 1,143 households. Households in flats: 28% of the total. The median age in the town is 48.5, higher than in 77% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Ambleside’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 286 full-time students aged 16 and over, 12% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 97% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 15% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
A town people move to
16% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
15% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a share 97% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 25% in Ambleside and 18% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ambleside, 48.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 12% in Ambleside, more than in 97% 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%.
11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, against 16% in Ambleside. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
More shared households of unrelated adults than 98% of UK towns: 7.6%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cumbria’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
A household here has 2 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. The usual figure: 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Above 86% of UK towns: 32% of households live in a terraced house
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
Households without a car or van: 22%, above four fifths of UK towns. Just over a fifth of households live in a detached house, a lower share than in 70% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
11% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 78% 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
With residents whose main language is English at 93%, Ambleside is behind 84% of UK towns on that count. Across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 18%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (7.8%) and in Africa (1.2%).
Ambleside sits below 73% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (87%)
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: 87% of Ambleside · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (8.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Chinese (0.5%). Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 39%, fewer than in three fifths of UK towns. Still, in Ambleside, 50% of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 46% across England’s towns.
42% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a share 94% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Students and young renters account for much of that. 39% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. On unpaid carers, Ambleside sits lower than 98% of UK towns: 6.6%.
Degree-level qualifications: 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 37% of adults in Ambleside (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 12% (England’s towns: 18%). Many still at university: 22% list A levels as their highest qualification.
193rd oldest of 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people
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 Ambleside in age: Windlesham (48.4), Ash (Dover) (48.4), Bishopthorpe (48.5) and Gilberdyke (48.5).
Around Ambleside, 2 of 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambleside | 2,624 | — | 48.5 | 25% | 15% |
| Windermere | 4,819 | 4.5 mi | 51 | 26% | 20% |
| Bowness-on-Windermere | 2,290 | 5 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 18% |
| Staveley | 1,466 | 7 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 21% |
| Kendal | 28,939 | 11.5 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 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.
- “Cumbria’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cumbria (or England), summed the same way as Ambleside’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 Ambleside’s residents
What is the population of Ambleside?
The 2021 Census counted 2,624 people in Ambleside’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ambleside?
The median age was 48.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 77% of UK towns. 15% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
Is Ambleside a student town?
Yes: 12% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (286 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Ambleside?
87% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ambleside?
39% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 8.8% didn’t answer.
Is Ambleside good for families?
15% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ambleside’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.