Photo: Jmb at English Wikipedia · CC BY 2.5

48.4Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

A smaller share of households in flats than 99% of UK towns: 0.5%

Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.2%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, households in terraced houses are scarce here: 6.7%, fewer than in 96% of UK towns. 983 residents in 418 households: that is Thursby at the 2021 Census. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 97% of the total.

25%aged 65 or over 2%born abroad 418households

Ages

Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 93% of UK towns: 7.9%

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

ThursbyEngland’s towns

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

Residents aged 65 and over: 25% here and 18% across England’s towns. Half of Thursby’s residents are over 48.4, older than in 76% of UK towns. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1517%

15 to 247.9%

25 to 4421%

45 to 6430%

65 and over25%

ThursbyCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

52% women, 48% men

Thursby

England

WomenMen

About 94 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.

Students & newcomers

3.4% of adults are full-time students, below 96% 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

Full-time students3.4%

Higher managerial and professional17%

Lower managerial and professional22%

Intermediate14%

Small employers and self-employed8.3%

Supervisory and technical5.5%

Semi-routine11%

Routine13%

Never worked or long-term unemployed5.4%

ThursbyCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

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

Thursby

6.1%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 5.8%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.2× England’s share

The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 5.8% in Thursby and 11% across England’s towns. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.

Households

A smaller share of one-person households than 80% of UK towns: 26%

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

Living alone, 66+ 15%Living alone, under 66 11%Families with dependent children 26%Couples and families, no young children 47%Shared houses and other 1.2%

Against Cumbria’s towns and England’s towns

Thursby

Cumbria’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person26%

2 people39%

3 people15%

4 people15%

5 or more4.8%

England’s towns.

Across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 29%; Thursby has 26%. On average, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.

Homes & cars

Thursby sits above 94% of UK towns for households in detached houses (56%)

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

Type of home

Thursby

Cumbria’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van8.2%

One36%

Two41%

Three or more15%

ThursbyCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Where 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns, Thursby has 8.2%. 0.5% of households live in a flat, less than in 99% of UK towns; 56% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.

Where people were born

Below 99% of UK towns: 2% 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%

Thursby

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 language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.7%

Another main language, little or no English0.1%

ThursbyCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%). Thursby has more residents whose main language is English than 92% of UK towns, at 99%. The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

59% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 93% of UK towns don’t reach

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

ThursbyCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White1.4%

Asian0.1%

Mixed0.7%

Black0%

Other0.6%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 97% of Thursby · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

ThursbyCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion35%

Christian59%

Muslim0.2%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.4%

Other religion0%

Didn’t answer5.2%

0%35%70%

By its share of residents with no religion (35%), Thursby is below 83% of UK towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%.

Relationships & caring

Married adults and civil partners: 59%, a higher share than 97% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership25%

Married or civil partnership59%

Separated1.5%

Divorced8.5%

Widowed5.9%

ThursbyCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

87residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 9.3%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.9%

20 to 49 hours1.8%

50 hours or more1.6%

Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%; Thursby has 25%. The village has fewer unpaid carers than 53% of UK towns, at 9.3%. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns.

Qualifications

Degree level: the highest qualification of 37% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications15%

Apprenticeship6.6%

A levels or similar17%

Degree level37%

ThursbyCumbria’s townsEngland’s towns

Degree-level qualifications are held by 37% of Thursby’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification (18%).

Neighbours

Older than Thursby: 4 of the 7 towns nearby

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

DalstonWigtonCarlisleHoughtonScotbyWetheralWarwick BridgeThursby

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Thursby	983	—	48.4	25%	26%
Dalston	1,541	2.6 mi	51.4	33%	23%
Wigton	5,396	4.6 mi	48.4	26%	22%
Carlisle	77,729	5.5 mi	41.1	19%	25%
Houghton	1,486	7.6 mi	47	26%	28%
Scotby	1,830	7.8 mi	53.3	32%	23%
Wetheral	1,129	8.9 mi	58.5	37%	17%
Warwick Bridge	1,232	10.2 mi	52	30%	21%

More about Thursby’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery 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 Thursby’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 Thursby’s residents

What is the population of Thursby?

The 2021 Census counted 983 people in Thursby’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Thursby?

The median age was 48.4 at the 2021 Census. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Thursby?

97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 2% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Thursby?

35% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.

Is Thursby good for families?

26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thursby’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.