Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.08.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 89% of UK towns
The share of households in terraced houses tops 78% of UK towns: 28%. In 2021, the Census found 4,860 residents in Melbourne, living in 2,176 households. For Melbourne, the census puts residents who describe themselves as White British at 96%. At 1.5%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is lower than in 91% of UK towns.
Growth of +13% since 2011 puts Melbourne ahead of 70% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Melbourne’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,800 people in 2011; 5,500 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+51%) and 30 to 44 least (−1%). The steepest year was mid-2013 to mid-2014, up 160 people.
A median age of 46.7: Melbourne is older than 66% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.9% of residents. Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, a higher share than in 64% 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+
■ Melbourne, 46.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
4.2% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 78% 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%.
8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 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.
Where 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, Melbourne has 26%. At 32%, the share of one-person households is higher than in 70% of UK towns.
A smaller share of households in flats than 71% of UK towns: 7.2%
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 21% across England’s towns, 34% of households live in a detached house in Melbourne. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%. Locally, just over one in ten households have no car or van.
Residents born outside the UK: 3.7%, a lower share than 81% 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 (2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.6%). Higher than in nearly four fifths of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language. Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 20% (England’s towns: 21%).
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 82% of UK towns: 55%
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 Melbourne · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Caribbean (0.1%). Lower than in 62% of UK towns: 39% of residents said they have no religion. Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
28% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 82% 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
Here just over half of adults are married or in a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 44%. 110 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Melbourne has fewer unpaid carers than 58% of UK towns, at 9.1%. For comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
40% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
40% of Melbourne’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have none (18%).
Of 810 UK towns its size (3,000 to 7,000 people), the 391st oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Melbourne in age: Hebden Bridge (46.7), Oughtibridge (46.7), Cosby (46.7) and Coleshill (46.7).
Around Melbourne, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | 4,860 | — | 46.7 | 24% | 26% |
| Aston-on-Trent | 2,433 | 2.9 mi | 51.3 | 29% | 26% |
| Castle Donington | 7,344 | 3.6 mi | 43.6 | 21% | 27% |
| Shardlow | 1,190 | 4.2 mi | 51.8 | 25% | 18% |
| Repton | 2,766 | 5.2 mi | 39.9 | 18% | 31% |
| Ashby-de-la-Zouch | 15,121 | 5.7 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 29% |
| Long Whatton | 1,157 | 5.8 mi | 49.4 | 26% | 23% |
| Woodville | 7,255 | 5.9 mi | 36.6 | 12% | 33% |
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 Melbourne’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. Melbourne’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,261 people in 2021, against 4,860 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 Melbourne’s residents
What is the population of Melbourne?
The 2021 Census counted 4,860 people in Melbourne’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,500 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Melbourne?
The median age was 46.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 66% of UK towns. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Melbourne?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Derbyshire’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Melbourne?
39% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Melbourne good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Melbourne’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.