Photo: Rose and Trev Clough · CC BY-SA 2.0

41.8Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Below 99% of UK towns: 4% of households have no car or van

Just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, against 62% in Cargo. The village is home to 525 residents in 206 households, by the 2021 Census. The share of households with dependent children stands at 33%. One-person households are rarer here than in 96% of UK towns.

17%aged 65 or over 2.3%born abroad 206households

Ages

8.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 82% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

CargoEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

The largest age band is 40–44: 9.4% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. For Cargo, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 17%. With a median age of 41.8, Cargo is younger than 70% of UK towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1520%

15 to 248.7%

25 to 4427%

45 to 6427%

65 and over17%

CargoCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

48% women, 52% men

Cargo

England

WomenMen

About 107 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

Cargo sits below 99% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (5%)

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

Full-time students5.3%

Higher managerial and professional10%

Lower managerial and professional26%

Intermediate13%

Small employers and self-employed11%

Supervisory and technical8.7%

Semi-routine8.2%

Routine13%

Never worked or long-term unemployed5.1%

CargoCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Cargo

5.4%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 5%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0× England’s share

Where 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, Cargo has 5.3%. Across England’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%.

The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.

Households

Bigger households than 98% of UK towns: 2.7 people each on average

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 9.7%Living alone, under 66 12%Families with dependent children 33%Couples and families, no young children 44%Shared houses and other 2.4%

Against Cumbria’s towns and England’s towns

Cargo

Cumbria’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person22%

2 people29%

3 people22%

4 people20%

5 or more6.9%

England’s towns.

2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home (England’s towns: 4.3%).

Homes & cars

Cargo sits below 98% of UK towns for households in flats (1.5%)

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Cargo

Cumbria’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van4%

One29%

Two51%

Three or more16%

CargoCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

7.9% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.

Where people were born

2.3% born outside the UK, fewer than in 98% 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%

Cargo

2.3%

Cumbria’s towns

5.1%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.6%

Another main language, little or no English0.2%

CargoCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

In Cargo, 99% of residents have English as their main language, beside 90% across England’s towns. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (1%) and in EU countries (0.6%).

Ethnicity & religion

98% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 99% 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

CargoCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White0.6%

Asian0.8%

Mixed0.8%

Black0%

Other0%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 98% of Cargo · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

CargoCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion38%

Christian57%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist1%

Other religion0.2%

Didn’t answer3.7%

0%35%70%

Against a figure of 46% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian in Cargo comes in at 57%. 38% of residents said they have no religion. As a reference point, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

Married adults and civil partners make up 58% in Cargo, more than in 95% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership28%

Married or civil partnership58%

Separated0.7%

Divorced9.4%

Widowed4.4%

CargoCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

35residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 7.1%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week3.4%

20 to 49 hours0.8%

50 hours or more2.8%

The share of adults who have never married is 28%, against 39% across England’s towns. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. In Cargo, 7.1% of residents give unpaid care.

Qualifications

29% of adults are qualified to degree level

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications16%

Apprenticeship6.8%

A levels or similar24%

Degree level29%

CargoCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

16% of Cargo’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 29% have one at degree level (34%).

Neighbours

Cargo sits below 6 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

HoughtonCarlisleScotbyGretnaDalstonLongtownWetheralCargo

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Cargo	525	—	41.8	17%	33%
Houghton	1,486	2.6 mi	47	26%	28%
Carlisle	77,729	3.2 mi	41.1	19%	25%
Scotby	1,830	5.1 mi	53.3	32%	23%
Gretna	3,435	5.6 mi	50.6	28%	22%
Dalston	1,541	5.7 mi	51.4	33%	23%
Longtown	2,176	5.8 mi	45.6	24%	22%
Wetheral	1,129	6.7 mi	58.5	37%	17%

More about Cargo’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Cargo’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 Cargo’s residents

What is the population of Cargo?

The 2021 Census counted 525 people in Cargo’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Cargo?

The median age was 41.8 at the 2021 Census. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Cargo?

98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 2.3% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Cargo?

38% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 3.7% didn’t answer.

Is Cargo good for families?

33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cargo’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.