Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0Alfreton: 50% of residents said they have no religion, above 94% of UK towns
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 27% of households have no car or van in Alfreton. On the census count, 40% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Just over a third of households are one person living alone, more than in 81% of UK towns. There were 3,980 households in the town at the 2021 Census, home to 8,790 residents.
What the Census says about Alfreton’s people
More with no religion than most
50% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 42% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Alfreton at 8,000 in 2011 and 9,500 in 2024, up 18%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 82% 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.
A +18% change since 2011: faster than 82% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Alfreton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,000 people in 2011; 9,500 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2023 to mid-2024, the population rose by 300, the most of any year. The 30 to 44 group saw the biggest change (+31%), the 45 to 64 group the smallest (+9%).
Half of Alfreton is under 42.2, younger than 68% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Where 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, Alfreton has 20%. 50–54 is the most common age band: 7.6% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Alfreton, 42.2. 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 Alfreton, 3.9% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 86% 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 take in just over a fifth of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 38% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison. For Alfreton, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 8.6%.
Fewer households with dependent children than 74% of UK towns: 25%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Derbyshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
A household here has 2.2 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Lower than in 62% of UK towns: 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. For households with dependent children, the comparison across England’s towns is 29%.
In Alfreton, 17% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 61% 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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 12% of households live in a flat or apartment in Alfreton. On the census count, 21% of households live in a detached house. Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house.
Only 95% of residents have English as their main language in Alfreton
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
15% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns. On average, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The share of residents born outside the UK stands at 7%.
42% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 89% 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: 92% of Alfreton · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (4.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.5%). Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 46% across England’s towns. Against a figure of 73% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British in Alfreton comes in at 92%.
38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 80% 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
Unpaid carers make up 10%, against 8.7% across England’s towns. To put it in context, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 21%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 21% of Alfreton’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 27% have no qualification (18%).
136th youngest of 482 UK towns of 6,000 to 12,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Tidworth is the youngest (28.4); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Alfreton in age: Annfield Plain (42), Southam (42), Ibstock (42.2) and Raunds (42.2).
Every nearby town is older than Alfreton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfreton | 8,790 | — | 42.2 | 20% | 25% |
| Somercotes and Swanwick | 15,105 | 1.6 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 26% |
| South Normanton and Pinxton | 16,028 | 2.2 mi | 43.8 | 19% | 25% |
| South Wingfield | 1,079 | 2.2 mi | 52.2 | 28% | 20% |
| Shirland and Stonebroom | 3,988 | 2.3 mi | 46.3 | 23% | 24% |
| Newton and Blackwell | 3,053 | 2.3 mi | 49.3 | 26% | 23% |
| Morton | 1,335 | 2.9 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 25% |
| Ironville | 1,824 | 3 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Derbyshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Derbyshire (or England), summed the same way as Alfreton’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. Alfreton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 8,790 people in 2021, against 8,790 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 Alfreton’s residents
What is the population of Alfreton?
The 2021 Census counted 8,790 people in Alfreton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 9,500 people in mid-2024, 18% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Alfreton?
The median age was 42.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 68% of UK towns. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Alfreton?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Derbyshire’s towns. 7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Alfreton?
50% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Alfreton good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Alfreton’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. 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.