Photo: Bob Jenkins · CC BY-SA 2.00.3% of households live in a flat or apartment, below 99% of UK towns
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 36% of households live in a terraced house here. Locally, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British. Half of Kirkby Thore’s residents are under 42.7, younger than in 64% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 765 people lived in the village, in 318 households.
Kirkby Thore: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24, above 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 9.4% of residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. 17% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 83% of UK towns, at 7.1%
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%.
7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, against 5.2% in Kirkby Thore. Set beside that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Kirkby Thore households average 2.4 people, larger than in 81% 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.
Here 31% of households are one person living alone, where the figure across England’s towns is 30%. Few places have as many shared households of unrelated adults: 3.1% here, more than in four fifths of UK towns. The share of households with dependent children stands at 28%.
In Kirkby Thore, 7.9% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 92% of UK towns
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
The share of households in detached houses is 28%, against 21% across England’s towns. The usual figure: nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 2.6%, a lower share than 95% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The share of residents whose main language is English is 99%, against 90% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%).
48% said they have no religion, more than in 89% 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
White British, not charted: 97% of Kirkby Thore · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian are about as common here as across England’s towns: 46%. Across the comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
A higher share of adults who have never married than 77% of UK towns, at 37%
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 19. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. Married adults and civil partners make up 47%, against 44% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 28% of adults in Kirkby Thore, 34% across England’s towns; 17% have no qualification, against 18%.
The towns around Kirkby Thore are all older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkby Thore | 765 | — | 42.7 | 17% | 28% |
| Appleby-in-Westmorland | 3,233 | 4.3 mi | 51.1 | 29% | 20% |
| Penrith | 16,705 | 8.1 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 22% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
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 Kirkby Thore’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 Kirkby Thore’s residents
What is the population of Kirkby Thore?
The 2021 Census counted 765 people in Kirkby Thore’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Kirkby Thore?
The median age was 42.7 at the 2021 Census. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Kirkby Thore?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 2.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Kirkby Thore?
48% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Kirkby Thore good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Kirkby Thore’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.