Photo: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households in flats than 93% of UK towns, at 27%
With a median age of 40.1, Cheltenham is younger than four fifths of UK towns. Across Cheltenham, 83% of residents describe themselves as White British. The city counted 115,941 residents and 51,483 households at the 2021 Census. Households in Cheltenham hold 2.2 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4).
A +5% change since 2011: slower than 61% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Cheltenham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 111,700 people in 2011; 117,400 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2015 to mid-2016, 1,240 people. Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+24%) and the 16 to 29 least (−12%).
In Cheltenham, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 19%, below 73% of UK towns. 30–34 is the most common age band: 7.1% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cheltenham, 40.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year: 13%, a higher share than 94% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for two fifths of Cheltenham’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 20%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across Cheltenham, 7.8% of adults are full-time students. To put it in context, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
One-person households: 35%, a higher share than 87% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Gloucestershire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 4.6%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Households with dependent children: 25% of the total. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
A smaller share of households in detached houses than 80% of UK towns: 18%
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
Nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, against 21% in Cheltenham. Census figures put households without a car or van at 20% in the city.
In Cheltenham, 15% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 86% 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
Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 23% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%). By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. In Cheltenham, 93% of residents have English as their main language.
45% said they have no religion, more than in 75% 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: 83% of Cheltenham · Gloucestershire’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 46% across England’s towns, 45% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Cheltenham. Across the comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Next after White British come Other White (8.2%), Mixed or multiple (2.5%) and Indian (1.7%).
A smaller share of married adults and civil partners than 83% of UK towns: 42%
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
40% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership (England’s towns: 39%). The usual figure: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Here, 7.4% of residents give unpaid care.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 43%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Cheltenham’s adults: 43% with a degree-level qualification and 13% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. 16% have A levels as their highest qualification, many of them still studying for a degree.
From a median age of 30 in St Paul's to 50 in Charlton Park
The city’s 16 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Charlton Park is the oldest area, with 27% aged 65 or over; St Paul's the youngest (median age 30). Students cluster in St Paul's, where 26% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Shurdington, Staverton & Witcombe (48% of households).
Ranked by age, 19th oldest of 63 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Salford (29.8) and the oldest Southport (48.4). Nearest to Cheltenham in age: Chester (40), Nuneaton (40.1), Gateshead (40.5) and Bury (40.5).
Older than Cheltenham: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheltenham | 115,941 | — | 40.1 | 19% | 25% |
| Prestbury | 4,078 | 2.2 mi | 51.1 | 31% | 23% |
| Shurdington | 1,888 | 2.6 mi | 48.9 | 29% | 26% |
| Bishop's Cleeve | 16,323 | 3.7 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 30% |
| Churchdown | 13,480 | 4.3 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 28% |
| Gotherington | 1,131 | 4.8 mi | 51.7 | 31% | 27% |
| Brockworth | 12,007 | 5 mi | 35.6 | 14% | 34% |
| Longford | 2,536 | 6.2 mi | 33.7 | 10% | 36% |
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.
- “Gloucestershire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Gloucestershire (or England), summed the same way as Cheltenham’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. Cheltenham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 114,594 people in 2021, against 115,941 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 Cheltenham’s residents
What is the population of Cheltenham?
The 2021 Census counted 115,941 people in Cheltenham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 117,400 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Cheltenham?
The median age was 40.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 80% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cheltenham?
83% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Gloucestershire’s towns. 15% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cheltenham?
45% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.5% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Cheltenham good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Shurdington, Staverton & Witcombe (48% of households). Schools are on Cheltenham’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.