Photo: Oliver Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0

52.4Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Heads Nook is older than 93% of UK towns: a median age of 52.4

In Heads Nook, 0.7% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. For Heads Nook, the census puts households in detached houses at 59%. One-person households are rarer here than in 91% of UK towns. There were 152 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 367 residents.

24%aged 65 or over 5.5%born abroad 152households

Ages

Residents aged 65 and over: 24%, a higher share than 69% of UK towns

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

Heads NookEngland’s towns

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

Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.2%, below 67% of UK towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1516%

15 to 249.2%

25 to 4415%

45 to 6435%

65 and over24%

Heads NookCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

50% women, 50% men

Heads Nook

England

WomenMen

About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

Heads Nook ranks below 74% of UK towns on full-time students: 4.3%

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 students4.3%

Higher managerial and professional19%

Lower managerial and professional30%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed14%

Supervisory and technical3.6%

Semi-routine6.6%

Routine7.2%

Never worked or long-term unemployed3.3%

Heads NookCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

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

Heads Nook

8.8%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 8.8%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.8× England’s share

By class, nearly half of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 14% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. On the census count, 8.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.

Households

Heads Nook households average 2.4 people, larger than in 80% of UK towns

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

Living alone, 66+ 14%Living alone, under 66 9.2%Families with dependent children 26%Couples and families, no young children 49%Shared houses and other 2%

Against Cumbria’s towns and England’s towns

Heads Nook

Cumbria’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person24%

2 people41%

3 people14%

4 people14%

5 or more6.6%

England’s towns.

The share of shared households of unrelated adults trails 71% of UK towns: 2%. Across Heads Nook, just over a quarter of households have dependent children.

Homes & cars

Only 3.9% of households have no car or van in Heads Nook

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

Type of home

Heads Nook

Cumbria’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van3.9%

One31%

Two42%

Three or more23%

Heads NookCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

In Heads Nook, 23% of households live in a terraced house, beside 24% across England’s towns.

Where people were born

Residents whose main language is English: 98%, a higher share than 64% 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%

Heads Nook

5.4%

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 language98%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.4%

Another main language, little or no English0.3%

Heads NookCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (2.7%) and in Africa (1.1%). Residents born outside the UK are rarer here than in 60% of UK towns. The benchmark for residents whose main language is English across England’s towns: 90%.

Ethnicity & religion

97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 95% 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

Heads NookCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White0.8%

Asian1.4%

Mixed1.1%

Black0%

Other0%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 97% of Heads Nook · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

Heads NookCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion33%

Christian57%

Muslim1.1%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist1.4%

Other religion0%

Didn’t answer7.1%

0%35%70%

The next-largest groups, after White British, are Mixed or multiple (1.1%), Other White (0.8%) and Pakistani (0.8%). Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 33%, fewer than in 87% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 57% in Heads Nook.

Relationships & caring

Above 96% of UK towns: 59% of adults are married or in a civil partnership

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 partnership25%

Married or civil partnership59%

Separated0.7%

Divorced9.2%

Widowed6.9%

Heads NookCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

28residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 8%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.2%

20 to 49 hours0.3%

50 hours or more2.6%

Compared with 39% across England’s towns, 25% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 83% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 9.

Qualifications

Degree level: the highest qualification of 44% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications9.7%

Apprenticeship4.9%

A levels or similar16%

Degree level44%

Heads NookCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Degree-level qualifications cover 44% of adults in Heads Nook, 34% across England’s towns; 9.7% have no qualification, against 18%.

Neighbours

Of the 7 towns nearest Heads Nook, 2 are older

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

Warwick BridgeWetheralScotbyBramptonHoughtonCarlisleDalstonHeads Nook

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Heads Nook	367	—	52.4	24%	26%
Warwick Bridge	1,232	1.5 mi	52	30%	21%
Wetheral	1,129	1.8 mi	58.5	37%	17%
Scotby	1,830	3.2 mi	53.3	32%	23%
Brampton	4,187	4.4 mi	51.8	29%	21%
Houghton	1,486	5.6 mi	47	26%	28%
Carlisle	77,729	5.8 mi	41.1	19%	25%
Dalston	1,541	8.2 mi	51.4	33%	23%

More about Heads Nook’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

“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 Heads Nook’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 Heads Nook’s residents

What is the population of Heads Nook?

The 2021 Census counted 367 people in Heads Nook’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Heads Nook?

The median age was 52.4 at the 2021 Census. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Heads Nook?

97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 5.5% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Heads Nook?

33% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 7.1% didn’t answer.

Is Heads Nook good for families?

26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Heads Nook’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.