Photo: John Holmes · CC BY-SA 2.0Arlecdon is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 55.3
Households average 1.9 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Arlecdon counted 658 residents and 345 households at the 2021 Census. Here, 14% of households have dependent children. Few places have as many households in terraced houses: 53% here, more than in 98% of UK towns.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns: 7%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (28%), Arlecdon is above 83% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer full-time students than 89% of UK towns: 3.8%
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 Arlecdon, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Above 93% of UK towns: 37% of households are one person living alone
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.
1.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
In Arlecdon, 12% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 70% 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
Households in detached houses: 27% here and 21% across England’s towns. As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Only 1.5% of residents were born outside the UK in Arlecdon
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
Residents whose main language is English make up 100%, against 90% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (0.9%) and in Africa (0.3%).
98% of residents describe themselves as White British, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 98% of Arlecdon · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 65% of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across England’s towns is 46%. Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Across Arlecdon, 30% of residents said they have no religion.
More married adults and civil partners than 81% of UK towns: 53%
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 25. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are scarce here: 29%, fewer than in 76% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%. Unpaid carers make up just over one in ten residents, against 8.7% across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 29%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 29% of adults in Arlecdon, 34% across England’s towns; 20% have no qualification, against 18%.
No nearby town is as old as Arlecdon
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlecdon | 658 | — | 55.3 | 28% | 14% |
| Frizington | 1,754 | 1.2 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 25% |
| Cleator Moor | 6,671 | 3 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 24% |
| Moresby Parks | 1,180 | 3.2 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 34% |
| Distington | 1,375 | 4 mi | 48.1 | 27% | 21% |
| Whitehaven | 22,952 | 4.4 mi | 44.3 | 21% | 24% |
| High Harrington | 1,574 | 5.1 mi | 49.8 | 29% | 24% |
| Egremont | 5,791 | 5.7 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Arlecdon’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 Arlecdon’s residents
What is the population of Arlecdon?
The 2021 Census counted 658 people in Arlecdon’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Arlecdon?
The median age was 55.3 at the 2021 Census. 7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Arlecdon?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 1.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Arlecdon?
30% said they had no religion and 65% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.1% didn’t answer.
Is Arlecdon good for families?
14% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Arlecdon’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.