Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0In Bolsover, 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 82% of UK towns
Unpaid carers make up 11%, against 8.7% across England’s towns. 11,228 residents in 5,049 households: that is Bolsover at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 25% of households have dependent children. Few places have as many households without a car or van: 21% here, more than in 76% of UK towns.
Bolsover grew +9% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 57% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bolsover’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 11,000 people in 2011; 12,000 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2023 to mid-2024, up 390 people. Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+29%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (+1%).
Bolsover sits below 64% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (9.4%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 7.8% of residents. Half of Bolsover’s residents are over 45.3, older than in 56% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In Bakewell, the oldest of Derbyshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bolsover, 45.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of full-time students than 77% of UK towns, at 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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 75% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.9%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. The share of one-person households stands at 32%.
Households in flats: 6.8%, a lower share than 73% 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
The share of households in terraced houses tops just over two thirds of UK towns: 25%. The benchmark for households in flats across England’s towns: 23%. The census found that 27% of households live in a detached house in Bolsover.
Residents born outside the UK: 4.1%, a lower share than 76% 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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.7%) and in Africa (0.6%). Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 98% here, more than in 56% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 16% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
More residents with no religion than 75% of UK towns: 45%
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: 95% of Bolsover · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
49% of residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%). Next after White British come Other White (2.4%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and African (0.4%). Measured more widely, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Bolsover: 34% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, above 61% 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
392 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. On married adults and civil partners, Bolsover sits lower than 70% of UK towns: 45%. As a reference point, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
22% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Bolsover counts 22% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 24% have no qualification (18%).
Ranked by age, 156th oldest of 397 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 60.4 in Sidmouth. Nearest to Bolsover in age: Oswaldtwistle (45.3), New Mills (45.3), Longridge (45.4) and Barton-upon-Humber (45.4).
Nearby, 2 of 7 towns have older populations than Bolsover
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolsover | 11,228 | — | 45.3 | 22% | 25% |
| Duckmanton | 1,775 | 2.2 mi | 39.7 | 19% | 32% |
| Glapwell | 1,559 | 3 mi | 51.1 | 27% | 21% |
| Clowne | 7,759 | 3.2 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 26% |
| Langwith | 3,009 | 3.3 mi | 42.2 | 19% | 26% |
| Shirebrook | 11,571 | 3.4 mi | 39.1 | 16% | 29% |
| Creswell | 5,792 | 3.5 mi | 38.9 | 19% | 29% |
| New Houghton | 1,431 | 3.6 mi | 44.4 | 24% | 24% |
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 Bolsover’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. Bolsover’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,134 people in 2021, against 11,228 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 Bolsover’s residents
What is the population of Bolsover?
The 2021 Census counted 11,228 people in Bolsover’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,000 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bolsover?
The median age was 45.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 56% of UK towns. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bolsover?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Derbyshire’s towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bolsover?
45% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Bolsover good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bolsover’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.