Photo: Andrew Hill · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 85% of UK towns: half of Shirebrook is under 39.1
Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Shirebrook comes in at 40%. On households without a car or van, Shirebrook sits higher than 90% of UK towns: 27%. At the 2021 Census Shirebrook was home to 11,571 people in 4,932 households. In Shirebrook, 15% of households live in a detached house.
Faster growth than 74% of UK towns: Shirebrook changed by +14% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Shirebrook’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,900 people in 2011; 12,500 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 30 to 44 (+34%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (+1%). In one year, mid-2018 to mid-2019, the population rose by 300, the most of any year.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 85% of UK towns, at 16%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Little separates the share of residents aged 15 to 24 here, 12%, from the figure across England’s towns. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The largest age band is 30–34: 7.8% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Shirebrook, 39.1. 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.
4.6% of adults are full-time students, below 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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier; across England’s towns the figure is 11%. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
3.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, more than in 90% 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.
Households with dependent children: 29%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. Against that, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. On the census count, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Only 8.3% of households live in a flat or apartment in Shirebrook
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
The share of households in terraced houses is 19%, against 24% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents born outside the UK than 87% of UK towns: 15%
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
27% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (13%) and in Africa (0.7%). Residents whose main language is English are rarer here than in 95% of UK towns.
A lower White British share than 80% of UK towns: 84% of residents
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: 84% of Shirebrook · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
On religion, 42% answered “no religion” and 51% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns: 73%. The largest groups after White British are Other White (13%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and African (0.5%).
Unpaid carers make up 11% in Shirebrook, more than in 88% 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: 421. Measured more widely, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Few places have as many adults who have never married: 40% here, more than in 91% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 17% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Shirebrook, 17%, and 30% have none, against 18%.
38th lowest median age among 432 UK towns of 8,000 to 16,000
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 Shirebrook in age: Southwater (38.9), Sherburn in Elmet (39.1), Winnersh (39.1) and Chigwell (39.3).
Every neighbour of Shirebrook has an older population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shirebrook | 11,571 | — | 39.1 | 16% | 29% |
| Langwith | 3,009 | 1.6 mi | 42.2 | 19% | 26% |
| New Houghton | 1,431 | 2.2 mi | 44.4 | 24% | 24% |
| Church Warsop | 2,139 | 2.7 mi | 45.1 | 21% | 27% |
| Market Warsop | 6,970 | 2.7 mi | 42.7 | 21% | 29% |
| Mansfield Woodhouse | 19,521 | 2.8 mi | 43.3 | 21% | 27% |
| Glapwell | 1,559 | 3.1 mi | 51.1 | 27% | 21% |
| Bolsover | 11,228 | 3.4 mi | 45.3 | 22% | 25% |
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 Shirebrook’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. Shirebrook’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,891 people in 2021, against 11,571 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 Shirebrook’s residents
What is the population of Shirebrook?
The 2021 Census counted 11,571 people in Shirebrook’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,500 people in mid-2024, 14% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Shirebrook?
The median age was 39.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 85% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shirebrook?
84% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Derbyshire’s towns. 15% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shirebrook?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Shirebrook good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shirebrook’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.