Photo: Stuart Wilding · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 99% of UK towns: half of Arnside is over 62.4
14% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Arnside was home to 2,231 people in 1,125 households. Households in terraced houses: a tenth of the total. The village has more residents who describe themselves as White British than 98% of UK towns, at 97%.
What the Census says about Arnside’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Arnside’s residents are under 62.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 45% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
45% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
70–74 is the most common age band: just over one in ten residents, 2.5 times the share across England’s towns. At 5%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is lower than in 99% of UK towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Below 97% of UK towns: 3.2% of adults are full-time students
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%.
One in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
One-person households: 38%, a higher share than 95% of UK towns
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. For comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. On average, 1.9 people share a household.
20% of households live in a flat, more than in 83% 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
13% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Across Arnside, 43% of households live in a detached house. For comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
100% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 99% 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
Born outside the UK: 3.1% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. 100% of residents have English as their main language.
In Arnside, 56% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 85% 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: 97% of Arnside · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 37% across England’s towns, 36% of residents said they have no religion here. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns is 46%.
Only 19% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Arnside
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
In Arnside, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns. The census found that 57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership locally. By way of comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 49% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Arnside, 12%, while 49% hold one at degree level (34%).
Nearby, 1 of 7 towns have older populations than Arnside
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnside | 2,231 | — | 62.4 | 45% | 14% |
| Silverdale | 1,056 | 2.1 mi | 61.5 | 43% | 14% |
| Milnthorpe | 1,871 | 3.3 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 26% |
| Grange-over-Sands | 4,047 | 3.4 mi | 63 | 47% | 11% |
| Holme | 1,477 | 4.2 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 26% |
| Warton (Lancaster) | 1,801 | 4.4 mi | 54.5 | 31% | 19% |
| Allithwaite | 1,171 | 4.5 mi | 55.7 | 32% | 22% |
| Burton-in-Kendal | 1,341 | 4.6 mi | 49 | 26% | 28% |
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 Arnside’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 Arnside’s residents
What is the population of Arnside?
The 2021 Census counted 2,231 people in Arnside’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Arnside?
The median age was 62.4 at the 2021 Census. 5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 45% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Arnside?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 3.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Arnside?
36% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Arnside good for families?
14% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Arnside’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.