Photo: The Carlisle Kid · CC BY-SA 2.0

47Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

0.5% of households live in a flat or apartment, below 99% of UK towns

6.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. At 4.4%, the share of households in terraced houses is lower than in 98% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 1,486 residents and 665 households in Houghton. In Houghton, 62% of residents describe themselves as Christian.

26%aged 65 or over 5.1%born abroad 665households

Ages

26% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 76% of UK towns

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

HoughtonEngland’s towns

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

The largest age band is 60–64: 8.3% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. With a median age of 47, Houghton is older than 69% of UK towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1518%

15 to 246.1%

25 to 4424%

45 to 6427%

65 and over26%

HoughtonCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

50% women, 50% men

Houghton

England

WomenMen

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

Students & newcomers

A lower share of full-time students than 98% of UK towns, at 3.2%

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 students3.2%

Higher managerial and professional13%

Lower managerial and professional24%

Intermediate14%

Small employers and self-employed10%

Supervisory and technical7.1%

Semi-routine11%

Routine10%

Never worked or long-term unemployed6.9%

HoughtonCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

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

Houghton

5.7%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 5.5%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.6× England’s share

Across England’s towns, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier; in Houghton, 5.5%. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 86% of UK towns: 1.7%

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

Living alone, 66+ 14%Living alone, under 66 13%Families with dependent children 28%Couples and families, no young children 44%Shared houses and other 1.7%

Against Cumbria’s towns and England’s towns

Houghton

Cumbria’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person27%

2 people42%

3 people15%

4 people13%

5 or more3.5%

England’s towns.

Households in Houghton hold 2.3 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). One-person households: 27% of the total. For comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.

Homes & cars

Houghton ranks below 93% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 7.6%

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

Type of home

Houghton

Cumbria’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van7.6%

One46%

Two38%

Three or more9.2%

HoughtonCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

The figure for households in detached houses is 42% in Houghton and 21% across England’s towns. One household in 13 has no car or van.

Where people were born

Fewer residents born outside the UK than 64% of UK towns: 5.1%

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%

Houghton

5.1%

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 language97%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well2.3%

Another main language, little or no English0.3%

HoughtonCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.8%) and in EU countries (1.7%). The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. In Houghton, 97% of residents have English as their main language, beside 90% across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

In Houghton, 31% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 91% 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

HoughtonCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White3.5%

Asian1.9%

Mixed1.1%

Black1.1%

Other0.5%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 92% of Houghton · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

HoughtonCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion31%

Christian62%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist1.5%

Other religion0.1%

Didn’t answer4.9%

0%35%70%

Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (3.5%), Indian (1.4%) and African (1.1%). The benchmark for residents with no religion across England’s towns: 37%. The figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 92% in Houghton and 73% across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

Houghton sits below 98% of UK towns for adults who have never married (22%)

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 partnership22%

Married or civil partnership60%

Separated1.7%

Divorced9.4%

Widowed7.3%

HoughtonCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

112residents 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 week3.9%

20 to 49 hours1.7%

50 hours or more2.4%

Houghton sits close to the norm on unpaid carers: 8%, about the same as across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Locally, three in five adults are married or in a civil partnership.

Qualifications

Degree-level qualifications reach 37% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications15%

Apprenticeship7.4%

A levels or similar17%

Degree level37%

HoughtonCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Degree-level qualifications cover 37% of adults in Houghton, 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification, against 18%.

Neighbours

Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Houghton

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

CarlisleScotbyWarwick BridgeWetheralDalstonLongtownGretnaHoughton

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Houghton	1,486	—	47	26%	28%
Carlisle	77,729	2.4 mi	41.1	19%	25%
Scotby	1,830	2.9 mi	53.3	32%	23%
Warwick Bridge	1,232	4.3 mi	52	30%	21%
Wetheral	1,129	4.4 mi	58.5	37%	17%
Dalston	1,541	6 mi	51.4	33%	23%
Longtown	2,176	6.2 mi	45.6	24%	22%
Gretna	3,435	7.5 mi	50.6	28%	22%

More about Houghton’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health B⁺Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute A⁻Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living DOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools C⁻Every 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 Houghton’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 Houghton’s residents

What is the population of Houghton?

The 2021 Census counted 1,486 people in Houghton’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Houghton?

The median age was 47 at the 2021 Census. 6.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Houghton?

92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 5.1% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Houghton?

31% said they had no religion and 62% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.

Is Houghton good for families?

28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Houghton’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.