Photo: Bill Harrison · CC BY-SA 2.0

41.1Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021 & mid-year estimates

A higher share of one-person households than 94% of UK towns, at 37%

Households in detached houses make up 15%, against 21% across England’s towns. Carlisle had 77,729 residents and 36,181 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 41.1 (younger than nearly three quarters of UK towns). For Carlisle, the census puts households in terraced houses at 32%. Lower than in 88% of UK towns: 41% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.

+5%people since 2011 19%aged 65 or over 8%born abroad 36,181households

Population since 2011

Since 2011, Carlisle has changed by +5%, slower than 60% of UK towns

ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Carlisle’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.

People, mid-2011 = 100

CarlisleEnglandAll of Cumbria

Change by age, 2011 to 2024

CarlisleEngland

0 to 15+5%

16 to 29−10%

30 to 44+9%

45 to 64+3%

65 and over+21%

About 77,000 people in 2011; 80,900 in 2024.

The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2022 to mid-2023: 1,360 people. The 65 and over age group changed most (+21%) and the 16 to 29 least (−10%).

Ages

A median age of 41.1: Carlisle is younger than 74% of UK towns

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

CarlisleEngland’s towns

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

More residents are 25–29 than any other five-year age: 7.2% of residents. Carlisle has more residents aged 15 to 24 than 85% of UK towns, at 11%. In Carlisle, 19% of residents are 65 or over, beside 18% across England’s towns.

Median age of UK towns of 2,500+

2535455565

■ Carlisle, 41.1. The typical town is 44.4.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1517%

15 to 2411%

25 to 4427%

45 to 6426%

65 and over19%

CarlisleCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

Carlisle

England

WomenMen

About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

A larger share of full-time students than 79% of UK towns: 5.7%

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 students5.7%

Higher managerial and professional7.6%

Lower managerial and professional17%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed7.8%

Supervisory and technical7.1%

Semi-routine14%

Routine20%

Never worked or long-term unemployed8.7%

CarlisleCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

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

Carlisle

11%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

7,913

residents, 10%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

446

0.6× England’s share

Here 10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, where the figure across England’s towns is 11%. By way of comparison, 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.

Households

2.1 people per household, fewer than in 89% of UK towns

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

Living alone, 66+ 14%Living alone, under 66 23%Families with dependent children 25%Couples and families, no young children 36%Shared houses and other 2.4%

Against Cumbria’s towns and England’s towns

Carlisle

Cumbria’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person37%

2 people34%

3 people15%

4 people10%

5 or more4.3%

England’s towns.

25% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 2.4% in Carlisle.

Homes & cars

26% of households have no car or van, more than in 89% of UK towns

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

Type of home

Carlisle

Cumbria’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van26%

One45%

Two23%

Three or more5.6%

CarlisleCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Here 13% of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. Across England’s towns, 24% of households have no car or van.

Where people were born

95% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 77% 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%

Carlisle

Cumbria’s towns

5.1%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

CarlisleEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language95%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well3.7%

Another main language, little or no English1%

CarlisleCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 24%. Residents born outside the UK account for 8%. As a reference point, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 56% of UK towns: 91%

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

CarlisleCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White5%

Asian1.8%

Mixed1%

Black0.4%

Other0.7%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 91% of Carlisle · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

CarlisleCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion42%

Christian50%

Muslim1%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.8%

Other religion0.4%

Didn’t answer5.8%

0%35%70%

1% of residents are Muslim. Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Compared with 37% across England’s towns, 42% of residents said they have no religion here.

Relationships & caring

Carlisle ranks above 87% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 39%

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 partnership39%

Married or civil partnership41%

Separated2.5%

Divorced11%

Widowed6.7%

CarlisleCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

6,235residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 8.5%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week4.1%

20 to 49 hours1.8%

50 hours or more2.6%

Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 1,898. At 8.5%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in nearly three quarters of UK towns.

Qualifications

25% of adults have a degree-level qualification

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications21%

Apprenticeship7.2%

A levels or similar18%

Degree level25%

CarlisleCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Carlisle’s adults: 25% with a degree-level qualification and 21% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.

Where in Carlisle

From a median age of 37 in Botcherby & Harraby to 51 in Belle Vue & Burgh

The town’s 10 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.

Median age 30 → 55 · line = all CarlisleAdults who are full-time students

Botcherby & Harraby375.1%

Denton Holme & Harraby Green388.1%

Raffles & Morton394.3%

Currock & Upperby405.1%

Longsowerby & Caldewgate414.9%

Garlands & Dalston414.5%

Central Carlisle4110%

Kingmoor, Houghton & Whiteclosegate435.9%

Carlisle Belah484.1%

Belle Vue & Burgh513.8%

Belle Vue & Burgh is the oldest area, with 28% aged 65 or over; Botcherby & Harraby the youngest (median age 37). Families with children are most common in Botcherby & Harraby (32% of households).

Towns its size

90 UK towns of 54,000 to 105,000 people: this is the 35th oldest

Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.

Carlisle 41.1

CanterburyWeymouthNuneaton

263952

At the ends of the range sit Canterbury (27.5), the youngest, and Weymouth (50.2), the oldest. Nearest to Carlisle in age: Brentwood (40.9), Mansfield (41), Wigan (41.1) and Runcorn (41.1).

Neighbours

Carlisle is younger than every town around it

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

HoughtonScotbyDalstonWetheralWarwick BridgeLongtownGretnaCarlisle

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Carlisle	77,729	—	41.1	19%	25%
Houghton	1,486	2.4 mi	47	26%	28%
Scotby	1,830	2.6 mi	53.3	32%	23%
Dalston	1,541	3.6 mi	51.4	33%	23%
Wetheral	1,129	4.1 mi	58.5	37%	17%
Warwick Bridge	1,232	5 mi	52	30%	21%
Longtown	2,176	8.4 mi	45.6	24%	22%
Gretna	3,435	8.8 mi	50.6	28%	22%

More about Carlisle’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health DLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute C⁻Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living C⁺Owners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools DEvery 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 Carlisle’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Carlisle’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 77,508 people in 2021, against 77,729 in the built-up area.
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 Carlisle’s residents

What is the population of Carlisle?

The 2021 Census counted 77,729 people in Carlisle’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 80,900 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.

What is the average age in Carlisle?

The median age was 41.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 74% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Carlisle?

91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 8% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Carlisle?

42% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.

Is Carlisle good for families?

25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Botcherby & Harraby (32% of households). Schools are on Carlisle’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.