Photo: Bill Boaden · CC BY-SA 2.0More one-person households than 86% of UK towns: 35%
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%; Cheadle has 77%. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 8.5% here, fewer than in 85% of UK towns. There were 6,419 households in the town at the 2021 Census, home to 14,437 residents. In Cheadle, 19% of households live in a flat or apartment.
A +10% change since 2011: Cheadle grew faster than 61% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Cheadle’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 12,900 people in 2011; 14,200 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+26%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−3%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2023 to mid-2024, 190 people.
Half of Cheadle is under 42.8, younger than 63% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, against 20% in Cheadle. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 7.6% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cheadle, 42.8. 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.
In Cheadle, 5.2% of adults are full-time students, more than in 67% 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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Cheadle has 41% and 18%. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%. In Cheadle, 8.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 64% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Greater Manchester’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.6%, above just over three fifths of UK towns. Census figures put households with dependent children at 27% in Cheadle.
20% of households have no car or van, more than in 72% 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
Across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%; Cheadle has 22%. One household in 5 has no car or van. Households in detached houses are rarer here than in just over two thirds of UK towns.
More residents born abroad than 80% of UK towns: 12% in Cheadle
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
The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 15% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). In Cheadle, 95% of residents have English as their main language. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
35% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 82% 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: 77% of Cheadle · Greater Manchester’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
9.2% of residents are Muslim. On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Cheadle sits lower than 77% of UK towns: 45%. Residents with no religion: 37% across England’s towns, for comparison.
36% of adults have never married, more than in 73% 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
In Cheadle, 45% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns. The census found that nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care locally. As a reference point, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 41%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Cheadle counts 41% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 16% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 38 in Gatley North to 55 in Cheadle Hulme Orrishmere
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Cheadle Hulme Orrishmere is the oldest area, with 33% aged 65 or over; Gatley North the youngest (median age 38). Families with children are most common in Gatley North (34% of households).
128th youngest of 360 UK towns of 10,000 to 19,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 60.4 in Sidmouth. Nearest to Cheadle in age: Houghton-le-Spring (42.8), Liversedge (42.8), North Hykeham (42.8) and Chatteris (42.8).
Median age: 4 of the 7 towns around Cheadle are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheadle | 14,437 | — | 42.8 | 20% | 27% |
| Gatley | 9,149 | 1.3 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 33% |
| Cheadle Hulme | 24,782 | 1.5 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 32% |
| Stockport | 117,925 | 2 mi | 39.1 | 16% | 30% |
| Bramhall | 17,201 | 2.4 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 29% |
| Wythenshawe | 97,665 | 2.5 mi | 37.2 | 15% | 33% |
| Hazel Grove | 20,163 | 3.5 mi | 45.3 | 24% | 28% |
| Reddish | 22,189 | 3.8 mi | 38.6 | 16% | 28% |
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.
- “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 Cheadle’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. Cheadle’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 13,682 people in 2021, against 14,437 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 Cheadle’s residents
What is the population of Cheadle?
The 2021 Census counted 14,437 people in Cheadle’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 14,200 people in mid-2024, 10% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Cheadle?
The median age was 42.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 63% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cheadle?
77% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across Greater Manchester’s towns. 12% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cheadle?
35% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 9.2% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Cheadle good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Gatley North (34% of households). Schools are on Cheadle’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.