Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0Windermere sits below 94% of UK towns for households with dependent children (20%)
Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%; Windermere has 35%. At the same time, 34% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 85% of UK towns. The town counted 4,819 residents and 2,227 households at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 28% of households live in a terraced house.
What the Census says about Windermere’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Windermere’s residents are under 51 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 26% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
More born abroad than anywhere else in Cumbria
12% of residents were born outside the UK, against 5.1% across Cumbria’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (8.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). Where people were born ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Half of Windermere is over 51, older than 89% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. Across Windermere, 26% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Windermere, 51. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Windermere ranks below 75% of UK towns on full-time students: 4.2%
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, 31% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Across Windermere, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Windermere households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 90% 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.
At 3.4%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is in line with the figure across England’s towns.
More households without a car or van than 68% of UK towns: 19%
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
Little separates the share of households in flats here, 23%, from the figure across England’s towns. About one household in 5 lives without a car or van. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are scarce here: 21%, fewer than in 72% of UK towns.
Above 80% of UK towns: 12% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents whose main language is English make up 93%, 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 (8.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%).
Above 91% of UK towns: 59% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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: 88% of Windermere · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 88%, against 73% across England’s towns. Typically, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (8.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Chinese (0.4%).
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 61% of UK towns: 31%
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
Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 8%, close to the figure across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Nearly half of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 34%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 34% of adults in Windermere (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 15% (England’s towns: 18%).
133rd highest median age among 810 UK towns of 3,000 to 7,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Windermere in age: Werrington (50.9), West Hallam (50.9), Meols (51) and Brinsley and Underwood (51).
Nearby, 1 of 6 towns have older populations than Windermere
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windermere | 4,819 | — | 51 | 26% | 20% |
| Bowness-on-Windermere | 2,290 | 0.9 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 18% |
| Staveley | 1,466 | 3.4 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 21% |
| Ambleside | 2,624 | 4.5 mi | 48.5 | 25% | 15% |
| Kendal | 28,939 | 7.4 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 23% |
| Levens | 1,020 | 8.8 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 22% |
| Milnthorpe | 1,871 | 11.6 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 26% |
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 Windermere’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 Windermere’s residents
What is the population of Windermere?
The 2021 Census counted 4,819 people in Windermere’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Windermere?
The median age was 51 at the 2021 Census, older than 89% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Windermere?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 12% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Windermere?
34% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Windermere good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Windermere’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.