Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in terraced houses make up 28% in Milnthorpe, more than in 79% of UK towns
Households in flats: 17% here and 23% across England’s towns. There were 800 households in Milnthorpe at the 2021 Census, home to 1,871 residents. The census found that 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home locally. At 25%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is higher than in 72% of UK towns.
In Milnthorpe, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The median age in Milnthorpe is 45.9, higher than in just over three fifths of UK towns. In Grange-over-Sands, the oldest of Cumbria’s towns by this measure, it is 47%.
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.
7.2% of adults are full-time students, more than in 92% 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%.
By class, 26% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 31% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). 8.9% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Milnthorpe households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 66% 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 households with dependent children is 26%, against 29% across England’s towns. The census found that nearly a third of households are one person living alone in Milnthorpe.
Below 79% of UK towns: 18% of households live in a detached house
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 figure for households without a car or van is 12% in Milnthorpe and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 21%.
In Milnthorpe, 5.5% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 60% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Where 21% of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 32%.
54% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 77% 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: 94% of Milnthorpe · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (3.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Pakistani (0.4%). Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Higher than in 67% of UK towns: 94% of residents describe themselves as White British. Here 39% of residents said they have no religion, where the figure across England’s towns is 37%.
Adults who have never married: 35%, a higher share than 65% of UK towns
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
One in ten residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns. As a reference point, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 57. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are scarce here: 45%, fewer than in 71% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Milnthorpe counts 27% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 17% have no qualification (18%). For 17%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
Milnthorpe is younger than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milnthorpe | 1,871 | — | 45.9 | 25% | 26% |
| Holme | 1,477 | 2.3 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 26% |
| Levens | 1,020 | 2.9 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 22% |
| Arnside | 2,231 | 3.3 mi | 62.4 | 45% | 14% |
| Burton-in-Kendal | 1,341 | 3.7 mi | 49 | 26% | 28% |
| Silverdale | 1,056 | 4.7 mi | 61.5 | 43% | 14% |
| Warton (Lancaster) | 1,801 | 5.6 mi | 54.5 | 31% | 19% |
| Grange-over-Sands | 4,047 | 6.5 mi | 63 | 47% | 11% |
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 Milnthorpe’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 Milnthorpe’s residents
What is the population of Milnthorpe?
The 2021 Census counted 1,871 people in Milnthorpe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Milnthorpe?
The median age was 45.9 at the 2021 Census. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Milnthorpe?
94% 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 Milnthorpe?
39% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Milnthorpe good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Milnthorpe’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.