The Old School · Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 50.9: West Hallam is older than 89% of UK towns
The share of households with dependent children trails 86% of UK towns: 23%. On households in flats, West Hallam sits lower than 97% of UK towns: 1.9%. There were 2,582 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 5,912 residents. For West Hallam, the census puts households in detached houses at 56%.
What the Census says about West Hallam’s people
Older than most towns
Half of West Hallam’s residents are under 50.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 28% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 86% of UK towns, at 28%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. On residents aged 15 to 24, West Hallam sits lower than 78% of UK towns: 8.9%. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ West Hallam, 50.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
West Hallam ranks below 91% of UK towns on full-time students: 3.7%
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%.
Set against 11% across England’s towns, 5.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in West Hallam. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 77% of UK towns, at 1.9%
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.
The average household has 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. On the census count, 28% of households are one person living alone.
Households in terraced houses make up 9.5% in West Hallam, less than in 90% 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
Just over one in ten households have no car or van; across England’s towns the figure is 24%.
2.5% of residents were born outside the UK, below 96% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%). At 99%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in 93% of UK towns. The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns. Of residents born abroad, 7.7% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
In West Hallam, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 93% of UK towns
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: 97% of West Hallam · Derbyshire’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (1.7%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Indian (0.2%). Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. 54% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a higher share than in 77% of UK towns. At the same time, the share of residents with no religion trails nearly two thirds of UK towns: 38%.
Fewer adults who have never married than 86% of UK towns: 27%
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 54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 44%. Census figures put unpaid carers at 10% in West Hallam. On average, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 30% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 30% of its adults qualified to degree level, West Hallam compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 17% hold no qualification (18%).
Ranked by age, 89th oldest of 624 UK towns this size
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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to West Hallam in age: Martock (50.8), Werrington (50.9), Windermere (51) and Meols (51).
Every neighbour of West Hallam has a younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Hallam | 5,912 | — | 50.9 | 28% | 23% |
| Smalley | 2,201 | 2.2 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 29% |
| Ilkeston | 38,723 | 2.2 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 27% |
| Heanor | 24,264 | 3.1 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 26% |
| Kilburn and Horsley Woodhouse | 4,447 | 3.5 mi | 47.5 | 25% | 24% |
| Awsworth | 2,444 | 3.6 mi | 45 | 22% | 24% |
| Little Eaton | 1,875 | 4 mi | 49.7 | 25% | 28% |
| Denby Bottles | 1,756 | 4 mi | 38.4 | 15% | 32% |
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 West Hallam’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 West Hallam’s residents
What is the population of West Hallam?
The 2021 Census counted 5,912 people in West Hallam’s built-up area.
What is the average age in West Hallam?
The median age was 50.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 89% of UK towns. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Hallam?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Derbyshire’s towns. 2.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Hallam?
38% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is West Hallam good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West Hallam’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.