Photo: David Medcalf · CC BY-SA 2.0Bigrigg is older than 98% of UK towns: a median age of 56.3
30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, against 37% in Bigrigg. On the census count, 15% of households have dependent children. Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in 99% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 323 people lived here, in 158 households.
Above 97% of UK towns: 36% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; in Bigrigg, 11%. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 84 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.
Residents who moved in within the year: 2.8%, a lower share than 99% 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%.
The figure for full-time students is 6.4% in Bigrigg and 7.9% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, just over one in ten 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.
Households here average 2 people, below 97% 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.
1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%.
Fewer households in flats than 95% of UK towns: 2.5%
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
Here 53% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. Census figures put households in terraced houses at 33% in Bigrigg. Households without a car or van are more common here than in 75% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, households in flats come to 23%.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 99% of UK towns: 1.5%
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
Against a figure of 90% across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English in Bigrigg comes in at 100%. Across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 18%.
Bigrigg ranks below 99% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 16%
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 Bigrigg · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, Bigrigg has 80%. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%.
Unpaid carers make up 14% in Bigrigg, 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
In Bigrigg, nearly a quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, beside 39% across England’s towns. At the same time, on married adults and civil partners, Bigrigg sits higher than 88% of UK towns: 55%. Across the comparison, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 18.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Bigrigg, 23%, and 23% have none, against 18%. The highest qualification of 15% is A levels, often students still at university.
Every neighbour of Bigrigg has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bigrigg | 323 | — | 56.3 | 36% | 15% |
| Egremont | 5,791 | 1.5 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 25% |
| Cleator Moor | 6,671 | 1.7 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 24% |
| St Bees | 1,187 | 2.1 mi | 51.2 | 25% | 21% |
| Whitehaven | 22,952 | 2.9 mi | 44.3 | 21% | 24% |
| Frizington | 1,754 | 3.4 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 25% |
| Moresby Parks | 1,180 | 4 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 34% |
| Distington | 1,375 | 6.4 mi | 48.1 | 27% | 21% |
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 Bigrigg’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 Bigrigg’s residents
What is the population of Bigrigg?
The 2021 Census counted 323 people in Bigrigg’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bigrigg?
The median age was 56.3 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 36% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bigrigg?
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 Bigrigg?
16% said they had no religion and 80% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4% didn’t answer.
Is Bigrigg good for families?
15% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bigrigg’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.