Photo: Pauline E · CC BY-SA 2.0In Matlock, 23% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 86% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Matlock, 2.1. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.8% locally. More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 80% of UK towns: 95%. At the 2021 Census Matlock was home to 11,990 people in 5,521 households.
Matlock’s population moved +7% on 2011, less than in 52% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Matlock’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 11,700 people in 2011; 12,500 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+42%) and the 16 to 29 least (−6%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2014 to mid-2015, 180 people.
Half of Matlock is over 49.4, older than 82% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are common here: 26%, more than in 78% of UK towns. In Bakewell, the oldest of Derbyshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Matlock, 49.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
4.1% of adults are full-time students, below 79% 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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Matlock comes in at 8.2%. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
Below 90% of UK towns: 1.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home
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.
One-person households: 34% here and 30% across England’s towns. For comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
18% of households have no car or van, more than in 66% 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
Compared with 23% across England’s towns, 14% of households live in a flat or apartment here. In one household in 5 there is no car or van. Households in terraced houses are rarer here than in 57% of UK towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 86% of UK towns, at 99%
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
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK in Matlock comes in at 4.1%. As a reference point, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%).
More residents with no religion than 66% 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: 95% of Matlock · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.4%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Chinese (0.3%). Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in 50% of UK towns.
30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 63% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 303 residents. More married adults and civil partners than in 58% of UK towns: 49%. The wider picture: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers make up 10% of residents, against 8.7% across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 37%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
37% of Matlock’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 16% have none (18%).
67th oldest of 432 UK towns of 8,000 to 16,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Matlock in age: Penzance (49.2), Whickham (49.4), Fakenham (49.4) and Ross-on-Wye (49.6).
Around Matlock, 6 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matlock | 11,990 | — | 49.4 | 26% | 23% |
| Tansley | 1,176 | 1.3 mi | 54.8 | 32% | 20% |
| Darley Dale | 3,985 | 2.5 mi | 53.1 | 33% | 21% |
| Cromford | 1,395 | 2.6 mi | 54.3 | 33% | 17% |
| Wirksworth | 4,904 | 4.3 mi | 52.2 | 29% | 21% |
| Crich | 2,070 | 5 mi | 51.3 | 28% | 23% |
| South Wingfield | 1,079 | 5.5 mi | 52.2 | 28% | 20% |
| Clay Cross | 8,915 | 5.9 mi | 43.5 | 21% | 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 Matlock’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. Matlock’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 12,577 people in 2021, against 11,990 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 Matlock’s residents
What is the population of Matlock?
The 2021 Census counted 11,990 people in Matlock’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,500 people in mid-2024, 7% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Matlock?
The median age was 49.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 82% of UK towns. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Matlock?
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 Matlock?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Matlock good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Matlock’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.