Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0In Heanor, 54% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 97% of UK towns
Half of Heanor’s residents are under 42.5, younger than in 66% of UK towns. The town had 24,264 residents in 10,771 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care. Households without a car or van: 21% here and 24% across England’s towns.
What the Census says about Heanor’s people
More with no religion than most
54% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 40% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
A change of +4% since 2011 leaves Heanor behind 68% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Heanor’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 23,800 people in 2011; 24,600 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2023 to mid-2024, up 250 people. Change by age ran from +24% for the 65 and over to −8% for the 16 to 29.
11% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 73% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
19% of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%). By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The largest age band is 50–54: 8% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Heanor, 42.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of full-time students than 78% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 25% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 34% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). 7.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
Smaller households than 64% 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.
Households with dependent children make up 26%, against 29% across England’s towns. One-person households account for 31%. At 2.3%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is lower than in 52% of UK towns.
7.5% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 69% 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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 25% of households live in a terraced house in Heanor. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%. The census found that 29% of households live in a detached house in the town.
In Heanor, 3.6% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 84% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English are more common here than in 62% of UK towns. 17% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns.
Only 40% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Heanor
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 Heanor · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British; in Heanor, 95%. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Chinese (0.3%).
37% of adults have never married, more than in 78% 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
Married adults and civil partners: 43% here and 44% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 21%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 21% of Heanor’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 23% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 40 in Heanor South & Shipley Park to 48 in Ripley South & Loscoe
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Ripley South & Loscoe is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Heanor South & Shipley Park the youngest (median age 40). Families with children are most common in Heanor Gate & Aldercar (27% of households).
Among 257 UK towns of 17,000 to 33,000 people, the 116th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.1 in Egham to 55.6 in Brixham. Nearest to Heanor in age: Bushey (42.4), Horwich (42.5), Wickford (42.5) and Tiverton (42.5).
Heanor is younger than 6 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heanor | 24,264 | — | 42.5 | 19% | 26% |
| Eastwood | 18,890 | 2.1 mi | 46.8 | 25% | 24% |
| Smalley | 2,201 | 2.2 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 29% |
| Brinsley and Underwood | 4,514 | 2.6 mi | 51 | 29% | 21% |
| Awsworth | 2,444 | 3 mi | 45 | 22% | 24% |
| West Hallam | 5,912 | 3.1 mi | 50.9 | 28% | 23% |
| Ironville | 1,824 | 3.1 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 26% |
| Ripley | 20,191 | 3.1 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 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 Heanor’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. Heanor’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 24,217 people in 2021, against 24,264 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 Heanor’s residents
What is the population of Heanor?
The 2021 Census counted 24,264 people in Heanor’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 24,600 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Heanor?
The median age was 42.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 66% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Heanor?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Derbyshire’s towns. 3.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Heanor?
54% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Heanor good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Heanor Gate & Aldercar (27% of households). Schools are on Heanor’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.