Photo: habiloid · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents with no religion make up 27% in Whitehaven, less than in 96% of UK towns
Against a figure of 30% across England’s towns, the share of one-person households in Whitehaven comes in at 36%. The town’s 10,617 households held 22,952 residents at the 2021 Census. Households with dependent children: 24% of the total. At 15%, the share of households in detached houses is lower than in 85% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Whitehaven’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Whitehaven at 25,400 in 2011 and 25,100 in 2024, down 1%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 88% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Whitehaven’s population moved −1% on 2011, less than in 88% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Whitehaven’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 25,400 people in 2011; 25,100 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+21%) and the 16 to 29 least (−6%).
A higher share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 67% of UK towns, at 10%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.8% of residents. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in 54% of UK towns: 21%. In Grange-over-Sands, the oldest of Cumbria’s towns by this measure, it is 47%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Whitehaven, 44.3. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
In Whitehaven, 4.1% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 81% 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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Whitehaven, 28% and 31%. 7.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a lower share than in 71% of UK towns. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Whitehaven households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 86% 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.
1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%.
Whitehaven sits above 87% of UK towns for households without a car or van (25%)
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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 12% of households live in a flat or apartment in Whitehaven. To put it in context, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses account for 21%.
A lower share of residents born outside the UK than 82% of UK towns, at 3.7%
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
Residents whose main language is English: 99% here and 90% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.3%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%).
67% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 99% 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
White British, not charted: 96% of Whitehaven · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 95% across Cumbria’s towns and 73% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (1.3%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and African (0.4%).
Whitehaven sits above 70% of UK towns for adults who have never married (36%)
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
For 766 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Elsewhere, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Whitehaven has fewer married adults and civil partners than 69% of UK towns, at 45%. Unpaid carers make up 9.9%, against 8.7% across England’s towns.
24% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Whitehaven’s adults: 24% with a degree-level qualification and 23% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
From a median age of 39 in Mirehouse, Kells & Woodhouse to 47 in Hensingham, Hillcrest & Aikbank
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Hensingham, Hillcrest & Aikbank is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Mirehouse, Kells & Woodhouse the youngest (median age 39). Families with children are most common in Mirehouse, Kells & Woodhouse (30% of households).
Ranked by age, 102nd oldest of 272 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bangor (26.4) and the oldest Brixham (55.6). Nearest to Whitehaven in age: Westhoughton (44.2), Tadworth and Epsom Downs (44.2), Berkhamsted (44.3) and Bishop Auckland (44.4).
Around Whitehaven, 6 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehaven | 22,952 | — | 44.3 | 21% | 24% |
| Moresby Parks | 1,180 | 1.8 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 34% |
| Cleator Moor | 6,671 | 2.7 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 24% |
| Frizington | 1,754 | 3.4 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 25% |
| St Bees | 1,187 | 3.5 mi | 51.2 | 25% | 21% |
| Distington | 1,375 | 4.2 mi | 48.1 | 27% | 21% |
| Egremont | 5,791 | 4.3 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 25% |
| High Harrington | 1,574 | 5.4 mi | 49.8 | 29% | 24% |
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 Whitehaven’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. Whitehaven’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 24,530 people in 2021, against 22,952 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 Whitehaven’s residents
What is the population of Whitehaven?
The 2021 Census counted 22,952 people in Whitehaven’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 25,100 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Whitehaven?
The median age was 44.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 51% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Whitehaven?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Whitehaven?
27% said they had no religion and 67% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Whitehaven good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Mirehouse, Kells & Woodhouse (30% of households). Schools are on Whitehaven’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.