Balustrades, Gateway and Bridge on Terrace to South East of Risley Hall · Photo: Harry Mitchell · CC BY-SA 3.0Shared households of unrelated adults: 1%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
With a median age of 49.3, Risley is older than 82% of UK towns. There were 97 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 218 residents. Unpaid carers account for 13%. Set against 46% across England’s towns, 57% of residents describe themselves as Christian in the village.
In Risley, 8.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%). For comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
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.
More students than 92% of UK towns: 7.3% of adults in Risley
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 46% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 12% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Across Risley, 10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A lower share of households with dependent children than 74% of UK towns, at 25%
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.
A household here has 2.4 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Across the comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. 30% of households are one person living alone.
In Risley, 66% of households live in a detached house, more than in 98% 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
Households in terraced houses are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. On the census count, 13% of households have no car or van. The share of households in detached houses across England’s towns is 21%.
Risley: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 90% 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 outside the UK make up 5.1%, against 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%).
Below 84% of UK towns: 35% of residents said they have no religion
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: 92% of Risley · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (3.2%), Indian (2.7%) and Mixed or multiple (1.8%). At 92%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is lower than in 53% of UK towns. The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 37% across England’s towns.
In Risley, 24% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 95% 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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 5. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 87% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 42% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 42% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 14% hold no qualification (18%). A levels are the highest qualification of 14%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
Older than Risley: 2 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Risley | 218 | — | 49.3 | 21% | 25% |
| Sandiacre | 9,373 | 0.6 mi | 43.5 | 22% | 27% |
| Breaston and Draycott | 7,393 | 1.7 mi | 50.1 | 27% | 22% |
| Stapleford | 15,041 | 1.7 mi | 40.8 | 19% | 28% |
| Long Eaton | 37,815 | 2 mi | 42.6 | 19% | 26% |
| Trowell | 2,165 | 2.4 mi | 51.7 | 29% | 22% |
| Borrowash | 7,171 | 2.8 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 26% |
| Beeston | 52,359 | 3.2 mi | 41.4 | 21% | 24% |
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 Risley’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 Risley’s residents
What is the population of Risley?
The 2021 Census counted 218 people in Risley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Risley?
The median age was 49.3 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Risley?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Derbyshire’s towns. 5.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Risley?
35% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Risley good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Risley’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.