Photo: Malcolm Neal · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 91% of UK towns: 58%
30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, against 33% in Ashbourne. Meanwhile, the town has fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 83% of UK towns, at 1.7%. At the 2021 Census, 8,854 people lived in the town, in 3,979 households. Census figures put households in detached houses at 36% here.
A growing town: +12% since 2011, faster than 68% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ashbourne’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,600 people in 2011; 9,700 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+44%), the 0 to 15 group the smallest (−4%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2021 to mid-2022: 200 people.
Half of Ashbourne is over 46.2, older than 63% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 12%; Ashbourne has 10%. 23% of residents are 65 or over, a higher share than in 60% of UK towns. More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.7% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ashbourne, 46.2. 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.
10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 79% 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 third of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 28% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On average, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. Across Ashbourne, 4.7% of adults are full-time students.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 74% of UK towns
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.
Set against 29% across England’s towns, 26% of households have dependent children in Ashbourne.
Ashbourne ranks above 69% of UK towns on households in flats: 15%
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
Households without a car or van make up 18%, against 24% across England’s towns. The census found that a fifth of households live in a terraced house in Ashbourne. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%.
In Ashbourne, 5% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 65% 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
Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 20%. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). More residents whose main language is English than in 52% of UK towns: 98%. As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 82% of UK towns: 35%
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: 94% of Ashbourne · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, Ashbourne has 94%. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (3.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (0.4%). Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 61% of UK towns, at 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
219 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Ashbourne has fewer unpaid carers than 59% of UK towns, at 9%. Typically, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners make up 48%, against 44% across England’s towns.
34% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Ashbourne, 18%, while 34% hold one at degree level (34%).
482 UK towns of 6,000 to 12,000 people: this is the 177th oldest
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 Ashbourne in age: Barugh Green and Redbrook (46.2), Brimington (46.2), Great Shelford and Stapleford (46.2) and Warlingham (46.2).
5 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Ashbourne
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashbourne | 8,854 | — | 46.2 | 23% | 26% |
| Mayfield | 1,099 | 1.8 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 20% |
| Brailsford | 1,403 | 5.2 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 24% |
| Rocester | 1,679 | 6.2 mi | 42.2 | 18% | 28% |
| Wirksworth | 4,904 | 8 mi | 52.2 | 29% | 21% |
| Doveridge | 1,760 | 8.5 mi | 48.9 | 24% | 23% |
| Cromford | 1,395 | 9.4 mi | 54.3 | 33% | 17% |
| Uttoxeter | 14,024 | 9.8 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 29% |
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 Ashbourne’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. Ashbourne’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 9,452 people in 2021, against 8,854 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 Ashbourne’s residents
What is the population of Ashbourne?
The 2021 Census counted 8,854 people in Ashbourne’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 9,700 people in mid-2024, 12% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ashbourne?
The median age was 46.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 63% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ashbourne?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Derbyshire’s towns. 5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ashbourne?
35% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Ashbourne good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ashbourne’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.