Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Keswick is over 52.8, older than 94% of UK towns
Compared with 29% across England’s towns, 17% of households have dependent children here. The share of one-person households stands at 38%. 54% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 77% of UK towns. There were 2,131 households in Keswick at the 2021 Census, home to 4,465 residents.
What the Census says about Keswick’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Keswick at 5,200 in 2011 and 4,700 in 2024, down 10%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 99% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Keswick’s residents are under 52.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
From 2011 to 2024, 99% of UK towns grew faster than Keswick: −10%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Keswick’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,200 people in 2011; 4,700 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+8%) and the 16 to 29 least (−24%).
30% of Keswick is 65 or over, a higher share than 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, against 8% in Keswick. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Keswick, 52.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
Full-time students: 4%, a lower share than 83% 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%.
Where just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, Keswick has 8.3%. By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2 people per household, fewer than in 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.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults tops 60% of UK towns: 2.5%.
More terraced houses than 81% of UK towns: 29% of households
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
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment; in Keswick, 24%. 22% of households have no car or van, more than in 81% of UK towns. For Keswick, the census puts households in detached houses at 19%.
More residents born outside the UK than 68% of UK towns: 8.6%
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Just over a fifth of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. In Keswick, 96% of residents have English as their main language.
Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 57% 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
White British, not charted: 91% of Keswick · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (5.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Chinese (0.3%). Lower than in 68% of UK towns: 38% of residents said they have no religion. Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Only 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Keswick
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
Unpaid carers: 8.7%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. Across the comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Locally, 49% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Degree-level qualifications: 36% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 36% of adults in Keswick (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 17% (England’s towns: 18%).
Among 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, the 69th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe (64.7). Nearest to Keswick in age: Hartley Wintney (52.7), Kingskerswell (52.7), New Alresford (52.8) and Walton (52.9).
The places around Keswick
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keswick | 4,465 | — | 52.8 | 30% | 17% |
| Cockermouth | 8,859 | 10.3 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 22% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
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 Keswick’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. Keswick’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,869 people in 2021, against 4,465 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 Keswick’s residents
What is the population of Keswick?
The 2021 Census counted 4,465 people in Keswick’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,700 people in mid-2024, 10% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Keswick?
The median age was 52.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 94% of UK towns. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Keswick?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 8.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Keswick?
38% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.7% didn’t answer.
Is Keswick good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Keswick’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. 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.