Photo: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0In Cirencester, 36% of households are one person living alone, more than in 92% of UK towns
Set against 29% across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children in Cirencester. 17,715 residents in 8,239 households: that is Cirencester at the 2021 Census. The census found that 25% of households live in a flat or apartment in the town. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 80% of UK towns.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 62% of UK towns: 23%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 11%, Cirencester is ahead of 88% of UK towns on that count. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 7.5% of residents. Half of the town’s residents are over 45.5, older than in 58% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cirencester, 45.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
Full-time students: 6.1%, a higher share than 85% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 11%. By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 88% of UK towns: 2.1 people on average
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.
Little separates the share of shared households of unrelated adults here, 3.5%, from the figure across England’s towns.
Fewer households in detached houses than 77% 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
Across England’s towns, 24% of households have no car or van; in Cirencester, 20%. Meanwhile, 25% of households live in a flat, more than in 91% of UK towns; 18% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 9.6%, a higher share than 72% 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
Of residents born abroad, 25% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 97% of residents have English as their main language.
91% of residents describe themselves as White British, below 60% 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: 91% of Cirencester · Gloucestershire’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (4.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (1%). At 51%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is higher than in 60% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 73% across England’s towns, for comparison. Just over two in five residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%).
34% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 63% 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 make up 7.8%, close to the figure across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners: 45% of the total.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Cirencester’s adults: 34% with a degree-level qualification and 16% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. Many of the 17% whose highest qualification is A levels are students working towards a degree.
From a median age of 43 in Cirencester East & Stratton to 50 in Cirencester Central
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Cirencester Central is the oldest area, with 30% aged 65 or over; Cirencester East & Stratton the youngest (median age 43). Families with children are most common in Cirencester East & Stratton (32% of households).
127th oldest of 354 UK towns of 12,000 to 24,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Cirencester in age: Hailsham (45.4), Shaw (45.5), Blackwood (45.5) and Davenham (45.6).
6 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Cirencester
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cirencester | 17,715 | — | 45.5 | 23% | 24% |
| Stratton | 2,558 | 1.4 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 26% |
| South Cerney | 3,998 | 3.2 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 29% |
| Ashton Keynes | 1,425 | 4.9 mi | 51.7 | 28% | 28% |
| Cricklade | 4,030 | 6.7 mi | 50.1 | 27% | 24% |
| Fairford | 4,240 | 7.8 mi | 45.8 | 24% | 28% |
| Chalford | 6,665 | 8.5 mi | 49.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Avening | 1,054 | 9.2 mi | 49.1 | 23% | 29% |
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 Cirencester’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 Cirencester’s residents
What is the population of Cirencester?
The 2021 Census counted 17,715 people in Cirencester’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Cirencester?
The median age was 45.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 58% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cirencester?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Gloucestershire’s towns. 9.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cirencester?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Cirencester good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Cirencester East & Stratton (32% of households). Schools are on Cirencester’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) · 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.