Photo: Mikeca142007 · Public domainMore one-person households than 97% of UK towns: 38%
Where 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, Workington has 1.5%. Here, nearly one in ten households live in a detached house. Lower than in 92% of UK towns: 40% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. This Cumbria town had 21,276 residents and 10,083 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 41.7 (younger than 71% of UK towns).
Slower than most: +2% since 2011, behind 75% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Workington’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 22,300 people in 2011; 22,700 in 2024.
The 30 to 44 age group moved most (+13%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (−13%). No year added more people than mid-2023 to mid-2024: 410.
Younger than 71% of UK towns: half of Workington is under 41.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over trails 65% of UK towns: 20%. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 10% here, more than in 64% of UK towns. No age band is larger than 55–59: 7.4% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Workington, 41.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 3.7% in Workington, less than in 91% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 20% of Workington’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 39%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year account for 7.6%.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 94% 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.
In Workington, 25% of households have dependent children, beside 29% across England’s towns.
In Workington, 43% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 96% of UK towns
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
By its share of households without a car or van (29%), Workington is above 94% of UK towns. On top of that, on households in flats, Workington sits higher than 52% of UK towns: 11%. The benchmark for households in terraced houses across England’s towns: 24%.
3% born outside the UK, fewer than in 91% 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
Arrivals from 2017 on account for 20% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns. For Workington, the census puts residents whose main language is English at 99%. On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 97% in Workington, more than in 97% 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: 97% of Workington · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Nearly three in five residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%). On the census count, just over a third of residents said they have no religion. Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 78% of UK towns: 10%
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
At 39%, adults who have never married sit close to the figure across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 725 residents. Across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 8.7%.
Among adults, 20% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 20% of adults in Workington, 34% across England’s towns; 25% have no qualification, against 18%.
From a median age of 40 in Workington West to 43 in Workington East
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Workington East is the oldest area, with 22% aged 65 or over; Workington West the youngest (median age 40). Families with children are most common in Harrington, Stainburn & Great Clifton (29% of households).
289 UK towns of 15,000 to 29,000 people: this is the 88th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bangor is the youngest (26.4); South Hayling the oldest (57.2). Nearest to Workington in age: Dukinfield (41.6), Woodley (41.6), Staveley (41.7) and Wisbech (41.7).
The towns around Workington are all older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workington | 21,276 | — | 41.7 | 20% | 25% |
| High Harrington | 1,574 | 1.2 mi | 49.8 | 29% | 24% |
| Stainburn | 2,120 | 1.5 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 26% |
| Seaton | 5,051 | 2.2 mi | 47 | 24% | 26% |
| Distington | 1,375 | 2.5 mi | 48.1 | 27% | 21% |
| Flimby | 1,716 | 4.2 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 25% |
| Moresby Parks | 1,180 | 5 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 34% |
| Great Broughton and Little Broughton | 1,763 | 5.4 mi | 47 | 23% | 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 Workington’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. Workington’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 22,109 people in 2021, against 21,276 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 Workington’s residents
What is the population of Workington?
The 2021 Census counted 21,276 people in Workington’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 22,700 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Workington?
The median age was 41.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 71% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Workington?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Workington?
35% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Workington good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Harrington, Stainburn & Great Clifton (29% of households). Schools are on Workington’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.