Photo: Peter McDermott · CC BY-SA 2.0Oldham is younger than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 31.6
Residents with no religion make up 20%, against 37% across England’s towns. Locally, 46% of households live in a terraced house. 9.7% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 95% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 110,722 people lived in Oldham, in 36,818 households.
What the Census says about Oldham’s people
A city of families
43% of Oldham’s 36,818 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 99% of UK towns and the highest share in Greater Manchester. 26% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
More born abroad than most towns
27% of residents were born outside the UK, against 17% across Greater Manchester’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (17%) and in EU countries (6%). Where people were born ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Oldham’s residents are under 31.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 15% are 15 to 24 and 10% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A mix of backgrounds
57% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 98% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Pakistani (27%), Bangladeshi (13%) and African (4%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Oldham grew +21% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 88% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Oldham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 96,700 people in 2011; 117,100 in 2024.
Mid-2023 to mid-2024 brought the biggest yearly rise, 2,400 people. The 30 to 44 age group changed most (+28%) and the 65 and over least (+13%).
Only 10% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
15% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Oldham, 31.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
11% of adults are full-time students, more than in 97% 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 15% of Oldham’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 30%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. For Oldham, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 7%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
43% of households have dependent children, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
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.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults tops 78% of UK towns: 3.1%. On one-person households, Oldham sits lower than 74% of UK towns: 27%. Typically, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. The average household has 2.9 people.
Households without a car or van make up 35% in Oldham, more than in 98% 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, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment; in Oldham, 15%. On top of that, every 3th household or so has no car or van.
27% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 97% of UK towns don’t reach
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 35%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (17%) and in EU countries (6%). Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 81% here, fewer than in 98% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 23% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns.
A lower White British share than 98% of UK towns: 43% of residents
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: 43% of Oldham · Greater Manchester’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Pakistani (27%), Bangladeshi (13%) and African (4%). Oldham has fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than 99% of UK towns, at 31%. Measured more widely, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Oldham ranks above 91% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 40%
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
There is little gap on married adults and civil partners: 44%, about the same as across England’s towns. 3,035 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. On unpaid carers, Oldham sits lower than 71% of UK towns: 8.6%. As a yardstick, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 20% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Oldham, 20%, and 31% have none, against 18%. A levels are as far as 15% have gone so far, many of them students midway to a degree.
From a median age of 27 in Busk to 44 in Holt Lane End & Bardsley
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.
Holt Lane End & Bardsley is the oldest area, with 18% aged 65 or over; Busk the youngest (median age 27). Families with children are most common in Alexandra Park (59% of households).
Ranked by age, 2nd youngest of 62 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Salford is the youngest (29.8); Southport the oldest (48.4). Nearest to Oldham in age: Salford (29.8), Preston (33.1) and Lincoln (33.7).
Every nearby town is older than Oldham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oldham | 110,722 | — | 31.6 | 10% | 43% |
| Lees | 12,641 | 1.7 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 27% |
| Chadderton | 37,602 | 1.8 mi | 38 | 17% | 33% |
| Royton | 22,997 | 2.1 mi | 45.7 | 23% | 27% |
| Woodhouses | 1,094 | 2.6 mi | 49.3 | 22% | 29% |
| Failsworth | 19,962 | 2.9 mi | 41.6 | 19% | 27% |
| Ashton-under-Lyne | 48,595 | 2.9 mi | 37.9 | 16% | 32% |
| Mossley | 11,416 | 3.1 mi | 41 | 17% | 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.
- “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 Oldham’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. Oldham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 111,468 people in 2021, against 110,722 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 Oldham’s residents
What is the population of Oldham?
The 2021 Census counted 110,722 people in Oldham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 117,100 people in mid-2024, 21% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Oldham?
The median age was 31.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 99% of UK towns. 15% of residents were 15 to 24 and 10% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Oldham?
43% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across Greater Manchester’s towns. 27% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Oldham?
20% said they had no religion and 31% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 43% were Muslim and 4.7% didn’t answer.
Is Oldham good for families?
43% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Alexandra Park (59% of households). Schools are on Oldham’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.