Photo: Yohan euan o4 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in flats make up 0.6% in Swarthmoor, less than in 99% of UK towns
In Swarthmoor, a third of residents said they have no religion, beside 37% across England’s towns. The village’s 475 households held 1,030 residents at the 2021 Census. Here, 7.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Fewer households with dependent children than in 89% of UK towns: 22%.
What the Census says about Swarthmoor’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Swarthmoor’s residents are under 50.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 27% 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).
Older than 88% of UK towns: half of Swarthmoor is over 50.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. Higher than in 83% of UK towns: 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
A smaller share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 2.6%
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%.
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 6.4% in Swarthmoor and 11% across England’s towns. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
Smaller households than 84% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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.
30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, against 32% in Swarthmoor. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 2.7% in the village.
More terraced houses than 92% of UK towns: 37% 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
Where 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns, Swarthmoor has 14%. On top of that, 0.6% of households live in a flat, less than in 99% of UK towns; 28% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Below 97% of UK towns: 2.3% of residents were born outside the UK
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
Residents whose main language is English make up 100%, against 90% across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (0.9%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.7%). Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 99% of UK towns, at 98%
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: 98% of Swarthmoor · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
60% of residents describe themselves as Christian; across England’s towns the figure is 46%. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns: 73%.
Adults who have never married: 26%, a lower share than 87% 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 31. On married adults and civil partners, Swarthmoor sits higher than just over four fifths of UK towns: 53%. The wider picture: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers make up 9.4%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Swarthmoor, 28%, and 17% have none, against 18%.
A younger town than 2 of the 7 around it: Swarthmoor
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swarthmoor | 1,030 | — | 50.7 | 27% | 22% |
| Ulverston | 11,219 | 1.1 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 21% |
| Dalton-in-Furness | 7,551 | 3.3 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 24% |
| Askam in Furness | 3,172 | 3.7 mi | 47.8 | 23% | 22% |
| Barrow-in-Furness | 55,260 | 6.3 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 25% |
| Millom | 5,690 | 6.4 mi | 46.4 | 22% | 24% |
| Allithwaite | 1,171 | 7 mi | 55.7 | 32% | 22% |
| Haverigg | 1,551 | 7.3 mi | 53.2 | 30% | 17% |
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 Swarthmoor’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 Swarthmoor’s residents
What is the population of Swarthmoor?
The 2021 Census counted 1,030 people in Swarthmoor’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Swarthmoor?
The median age was 50.7 at the 2021 Census. 7.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Swarthmoor?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 2.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Swarthmoor?
33% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Swarthmoor good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Swarthmoor’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.