Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0

44.9Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Few flats: only 1.1% of households in Birch live in one

With households without a car or van at 8.5%, Birch is behind 89% of UK towns on that count. The village counted 232 residents and 95 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put residents with no religion at 29% here. Higher than in just over four fifths of UK towns: 53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.

23%aged 65 or over 3.9%born abroad 95households

Ages

Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11% in Birch, more than in 86% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

BirchEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Half of Birch’s residents are over 44.9, older than in 53% of UK towns. The wider picture: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Locally, 23% of residents are 65 or over. More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 9.9% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1517%

15 to 2411%

25 to 4422%

45 to 6427%

65 and over23%

BirchGreater Manchester’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

Birch

England

WomenMen

About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

A student village: 6.4% of adults study full-time

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

Full-time students6.4%

Higher managerial and professional11%

Lower managerial and professional20%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed25%

Supervisory and technical3.7%

Semi-routine11%

Routine6.4%

Never worked or long-term unemployed4.8%

BirchGreater Manchester’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Birch

10%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 10%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0× England’s share

Residents who moved in within the year make up 10%, against 11% across England’s towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.

The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.

Households

Birch households average 2.4 people, larger than in 79% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 15%Living alone, under 66 15%Families with dependent children 29%Couples and families, no young children 39%Shared houses and other 2.1%

Against Greater Manchester’s towns and England’s towns

Birch

Greater Manchester’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person30%

2 people28%

3 people27%

4 people7.5%

5 or more7.5%

England’s towns.

There is little gap on households with dependent children: 29%, about the same as across England’s towns. Lower than in 64% of UK towns: 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.

Homes & cars

In Birch, 14% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 77% of UK towns

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Birch

Greater Manchester’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van8.5%

One40%

Two33%

Three or more18%

BirchGreater Manchester’s townsEngland’s towns

The share of households in detached houses is 38%, against 21% across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses make up 24% across England’s towns.

Where people were born

A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 91% of UK towns, at 99%

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%

Birch

3.9%

Greater Manchester’s towns

17%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0%

Another main language, little or no English0.9%

BirchGreater Manchester’s townsEngland’s towns

With residents born outside the UK at 3.9%, Birch is behind nearly four fifths of UK towns on that count. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in Africa (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%). To put it in context, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

In Birch, 56% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 86% 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

BirchGreater Manchester’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White0.9%

Asian4.8%

Mixed3.5%

Black0.4%

Other1.3%

0%8%16%

White British, not charted: 89% of Birch · Greater Manchester’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

BirchGreater Manchester’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion29%

Christian56%

Muslim6.9%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist1.3%

Other religion0%

Didn’t answer6%

0%35%70%

Here 89% of residents describe themselves as White British, where the figure across England’s towns is 73%. Measured more widely, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Muslims make up 6.9% of residents.

Relationships & caring

11% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 83% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership34%

Married or civil partnership53%

Separated1.1%

Divorced5.3%

Widowed6.9%

BirchGreater Manchester’s townsEngland’s towns

24residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 11%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week6.3%

20 to 49 hours2.7%

50 hours or more1.8%

Set against 39% across England’s towns, just over a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Birch. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 4 people. The benchmark for unpaid carers across England’s towns: 8.7%.

Qualifications

The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 28%

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications18%

Apprenticeship6%

A levels or similar18%

Degree level28%

BirchGreater Manchester’s townsEngland’s towns

Degree-level qualifications are held by 28% of adults in Birch (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 18% (England’s towns: 18%). A levels top the qualifications of 18%, many of them students on the way to a degree.

Neighbours

Older than Birch: 1 of the 7 towns nearby

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

HeywoodMiddletonRhodesTrubSimisterWhitefieldBuryBirch

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Birch	232	—	44.9	23%	29%
Heywood	29,724	1.2 mi	38.7	17%	31%
Middleton	46,617	1.7 mi	38.9	17%	32%
Rhodes	2,970	2 mi	39.5	15%	26%
Trub	1,389	2.1 mi	43.3	20%	29%
Simister	1,054	2.1 mi	48.8	22%	26%
Whitefield	22,193	3.3 mi	40.3	18%	30%
Bury	81,115	3.7 mi	40.5	18%	30%

More about Birch’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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.
“Greater Manchester’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Greater Manchester (or England), summed the same way as Birch’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 Birch’s residents

What is the population of Birch?

The 2021 Census counted 232 people in Birch’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Birch?

The median age was 44.9 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Birch?

89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across Greater Manchester’s towns. 3.9% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Birch?

29% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 6.9% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.

Is Birch good for families?

29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Birch’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.