Photo: John Tomlinson · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 91% of UK towns: 59%
The figure for households in terraced houses is 29% in Ramsbottom and 24% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 17,074 people lived here, in 7,334 households. On the census count, 52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. With a median age of 46.7, Ramsbottom is older than nearly two thirds of UK towns.
Ramsbottom’s population moved +1% on 2011, less than in 80% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ramsbottom’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 16,400 people in 2011; 16,500 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2011 to mid-2012, the population rose by 100, the most of any year. Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+38%) and the 30 to 44 least (−14%).
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 59% of UK towns: 23%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops 64% of UK towns: 10%. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ramsbottom, 46.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
6.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 90% 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%.
With full-time students at 6.1%, Ramsbottom is ahead of 85% of UK towns on that count. The share of residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Ramsbottom ranks below 73% of UK towns on shared households of unrelated adults: 1.9%
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.
Where 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, Ramsbottom has 28%. The average household has 2.3 people. Households with dependent children are more common here than in 54% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Households in flats make up 8.4% in Ramsbottom, less than in 64% 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
Households in detached houses make up 32%, against 21% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. For Ramsbottom, the census puts households without a car or van at 14%.
Only 3.9% of residents were born outside the UK in Ramsbottom
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
By its share of residents whose main language is English (98%), Ramsbottom is above 64% of UK towns. Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%).
Only 33% of residents said they have no religion in Ramsbottom
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: 93% of Ramsbottom · Greater Manchester’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who describe themselves as White British at 93%, Ramsbottom is ahead of 54% of UK towns on that count. Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and Pakistani (0.7%). As a yardstick, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Ramsbottom ranks below 61% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 31%
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
8.9% of residents give unpaid care, about the same as across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 41%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 41% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 13% hold no qualification (18%). A levels are the highest qualification of 16%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 43 in Ramsbottom to 52 in Summerseat
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.
Summerseat is the oldest area, with 31% aged 65 or over; Ramsbottom the youngest (median age 43). Families with children are most common in Nuttall & Tottington (34% of households).
Among 336 UK towns of 12,000 to 23,000 people, the 83rd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Ramsbottom in age: Knutsford (46.6), Taverham and Drayton (46.6), Lewes (46.7) and Garforth (46.8).
Median age: 2 of the 7 towns around Ramsbottom 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsbottom | 17,074 | — | 46.7 | 23% | 28% |
| Edenfield | 2,048 | 2.4 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 28% |
| Edgworth | 1,649 | 3 mi | 52.9 | 27% | 24% |
| Bury | 81,115 | 3.1 mi | 40.5 | 18% | 30% |
| Ainsworth | 1,595 | 3.7 mi | 46.8 | 23% | 26% |
| Haslingden | 16,005 | 4.3 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 30% |
| Rawtenstall | 23,683 | 5 mi | 42.7 | 19% | 29% |
| Radcliffe | 31,114 | 5.1 mi | 38.9 | 17% | 30% |
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 Ramsbottom’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. Ramsbottom’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 16,320 people in 2021, against 17,074 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 Ramsbottom’s residents
What is the population of Ramsbottom?
The 2021 Census counted 17,074 people in Ramsbottom’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 16,500 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Ramsbottom?
The median age was 46.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 66% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ramsbottom?
93% 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 Ramsbottom?
33% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.8% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Ramsbottom good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Nuttall & Tottington (34% of households). Schools are on Ramsbottom’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.