Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent. · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 36.5: Gamesley is younger than 93% of UK towns
4.8% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Fewer married adults and civil partners than in 99% of UK towns: 31%. Gamesley’s 1,329 households held 3,124 residents at the 2021 Census. Households in terraced houses: 76% of the total.
What the Census says about Gamesley’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Gamesley’s residents are under 36.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
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 ↓
Many carers
337 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 93% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over: 13%, a lower share than 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
On residents aged 15 to 24, 12% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Gamesley, 36.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Gamesley ranks below 99% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 5.4%
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%.
The share of full-time students tops 72% of UK towns: 5.4%. To put it in context, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children: 33%, a higher share than 89% 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.
Where 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, Gamesley has 35%. 2.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 98% of UK towns, at 34%
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
4.2% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for households without a car or van is 24% across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 3%, a lower share than 92% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.2%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 100% here, more than in 99% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK.
Gamesley sits above 94% of UK towns for residents with no religion (50%)
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: 96% of Gamesley · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Mixed or multiple (1.7%), Other White (1.6%) and Chinese (0.2%). As a reference point, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in 86% of UK towns. Set against 46% across England’s towns, just over two in five residents describe themselves as Christian in Gamesley.
Adults who have never married: 47%, a higher share than 97% 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
11% of residents give unpaid care; across England’s towns the figure is 8.7%. As a reference point, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 19%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Gamesley’s adults: 19% with a degree-level qualification and 24% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Of 514 UK towns its size (2,500 to 4,000 people), the 25th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Keele (20.6) and the oldest West Chiltington (63.1). Nearest to Gamesley in age: Eastchurch (36.3), Dunton Green (36.3), Cranwell (37.2) and Fradley (37.2).
Of the 7 towns nearest Gamesley, 6 are 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamesley | 3,124 | — | 36.5 | 13% | 33% |
| Hadfield | 16,271 | 0.9 mi | 44 | 20% | 27% |
| Broadbottom | 1,001 | 1.2 mi | 48.8 | 23% | 22% |
| Glossop | 17,820 | 1.4 mi | 45.8 | 21% | 26% |
| Hattersley | 6,959 | 2 mi | 34 | 12% | 35% |
| Hyde | 35,902 | 3.6 mi | 39.3 | 17% | 31% |
| Stalybridge | 26,850 | 3.7 mi | 41.1 | 18% | 30% |
| Marple Bridge | 4,702 | 4 mi | 49 | 26% | 29% |
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 Gamesley’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Gamesley’s residents
What is the population of Gamesley?
The 2021 Census counted 3,124 people in Gamesley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Gamesley?
The median age was 36.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 93% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 13% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Gamesley?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Derbyshire’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Gamesley?
50% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Gamesley good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Gamesley’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). 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.