Photo: David Weston · CC BY-SA 2.0Above 90% of UK towns: 36% of households are one person living alone
Nearly a quarter of households have dependent children; across England’s towns the figure is 29%. Census day 2021: 20,048 residents and 9,183 households in Buxton. On the census count, 18% of households live in a detached house. With a median age of 47.1, Buxton is older than 69% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Buxton’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Buxton at 21,300 in 2011 and 20,700 in 2024, down 3%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 94% 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.
Slower growth than 94% of UK towns: Buxton changed by −3% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Buxton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 21,300 people in 2011; 20,700 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+26%) and the 16 to 29 least (−23%).
Buxton ranks above 77% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 11%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: 8.5% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. On residents aged 65 and over, Buxton sits higher than 56% of UK towns: 23%. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Buxton, 47.1. 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: 5.2%, a higher share than 64% 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 31% of Buxton’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 29%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Here, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Buxton households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 84% 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.
Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here.
In Buxton, 22% of households have no car or van, more than in 78% 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
Here a quarter of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. Across Buxton, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment. Every 5th household or so has no car or van.
Residents born outside the UK: 5.2%, a lower share than 62% 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
Of residents born abroad, 15% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). On residents whose main language is English, Buxton sits higher than just over half of UK towns: 98%. Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents with no religion than 67% of UK towns: 43%
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 Buxton · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.5%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Chinese (0.3%). Higher than in nearly two thirds of UK towns: 94% of residents describe themselves as White British. Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. 49% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns.
Adults who have never married make up 35% in Buxton, more than in 65% 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
At 44%, married adults and civil partners sit close to the figure across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 483. On unpaid carers, Buxton sits lower than just over three fifths of UK towns: 9%. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%.
Degree-level qualifications: 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Buxton’s adults: 33% with a degree-level qualification and 17% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
From a median age of 40 in Buxton South & East to 50 in Buxton North
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Buxton North is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Buxton South & East the youngest (median age 40). Families with children are most common in Buxton South & East (31% of households).
59th oldest of 310 UK towns of 14,000 to 27,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); South Hayling the oldest (57.2). Nearest to Buxton in age: Ashtead (47), Romsey (47), Belper (47.1) and Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne (47.1).
3 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Buxton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buxton | 20,048 | — | 47.1 | 23% | 24% |
| Harpur Hill | 1,121 | 1.4 mi | 38 | 13% | 33% |
| Dove Holes | 1,156 | 3.3 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 26% |
| Chapel-en-le-Frith | 7,235 | 4.6 mi | 45.4 | 23% | 27% |
| Tideswell | 1,554 | 5.9 mi | 51.3 | 26% | 22% |
| Chinley | 1,913 | 5.9 mi | 45.4 | 21% | 28% |
| Whaley Bridge | 4,618 | 6 mi | 49.6 | 23% | 24% |
| Furness Vale | 1,069 | 7.3 mi | 51.2 | 24% | 22% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Buxton’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. Buxton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 20,277 people in 2021, against 20,048 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 Buxton’s residents
What is the population of Buxton?
The 2021 Census counted 20,048 people in Buxton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 20,700 people in mid-2024, 3% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Buxton?
The median age was 47.1 at the 2021 Census, older than 69% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Buxton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Derbyshire’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Buxton?
43% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Buxton good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Buxton South & East (31% of households). Schools are on Buxton’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.