Photo: Andrew Hill · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households in terraced houses than 91% of UK towns, at 37%
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.1% here and 12% across England’s towns. The census found that 44% of residents said they have no religion in Glossop. At 18%, the share of households without a car or van is higher than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. The town counted 17,820 residents and 7,964 households at the 2021 Census.
Slower growth than 72% of UK towns: Glossop changed by +3% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Glossop’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 17,600 people in 2011; 18,100 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+46%), the 0 to 15 group the smallest (−12%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2017 to mid-2018, 170 people.
A median age of 45.8: Glossop is older than 60% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Glossop comes in at 21%. The largest age band is 50–54: 8.3% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Glossop, 45.8. 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.
Full-time students make up 4.6% in Glossop, less than in 60% 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%.
Here nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, where the figure across England’s towns is 11%. By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 70% 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.
In Glossop, 26% of households have dependent children, beside 29% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 57% of UK towns. Across Glossop, 30% of households are one person living alone.
A higher share of households in flats than 60% of UK towns, at 13%
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
On the census count, 28% of households live in a detached house. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns.
4.1% born outside the UK, fewer than in 77% 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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 99% here, more than in nearly four fifths of UK towns. The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are just over a tenth of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns).
Glossop sits above 66% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (94%)
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 Glossop · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Chinese (0.3%). On average, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Half of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 52% of UK towns.
In Glossop, 34% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 57% 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
410 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Typically, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 48%, more than in 52% of UK towns. Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 9.2%, from the figure across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 40% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 40% of its adults qualified to degree level, Glossop compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 13% hold no qualification (18%).
120th oldest of 354 UK towns of 12,000 to 24,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Glossop in age: Royal Wootton Bassett (45.7), Bingley (45.8), Market Drayton (45.8) and Oswestry (45.8).
3 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Glossop
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glossop | 17,820 | — | 45.8 | 21% | 26% |
| Gamesley | 3,124 | 1.4 mi | 36.5 | 13% | 33% |
| Hadfield | 16,271 | 1.7 mi | 44 | 20% | 27% |
| Broadbottom | 1,001 | 2.4 mi | 48.8 | 23% | 22% |
| Hattersley | 6,959 | 3.4 mi | 34 | 12% | 35% |
| Hayfield | 1,878 | 4.3 mi | 52.1 | 27% | 23% |
| Marple Bridge | 4,702 | 4.8 mi | 49 | 26% | 29% |
| Stalybridge | 26,850 | 4.9 mi | 41.1 | 18% | 30% |
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 Glossop’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. Glossop’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 18,070 people in 2021, against 17,820 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 Glossop’s residents
What is the population of Glossop?
The 2021 Census counted 17,820 people in Glossop’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 18,100 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Glossop?
The median age was 45.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 60% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Glossop?
94% 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 Glossop?
44% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Glossop good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Glossop’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.