Photo: Mr Stephen · CC BY-SA 2.5Fewer detached houses than 97% of UK towns: 7.1% of households
In Reddish, 37% of households live in a terraced house, beside 24% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Reddish was home to 22,189 people in 9,943 households. 36% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Lower than in 79% of UK towns: 84% of residents describe themselves as White British.
What the Census says about Reddish’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Reddish’s residents are under 38.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
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.
From 2011 to 2024, 60% of UK towns grew faster than Reddish: +5%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Reddish’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 21,700 people in 2011; 22,800 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+15%) and the 45 to 64 least (±0%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2024: 280 more people.
A median age of 38.6: Reddish is younger than 87% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 30–34: nearly one in ten residents. At 16%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is lower than in 89% of UK towns. Young people aged 15 to 24 make up 11% of residents, against 12% across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Reddish, 38.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More students than 64% of UK towns: 5.2% of adults in Reddish
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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Reddish sits above 76% of UK towns for one-person households (33%)
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.
Households average 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%. On the census count, 2.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
In Reddish, 16% of households live in a flat or apartment, 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
Here 25% of households have no car or van, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. Across the comparison, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Reddish ranks below 73% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 96%
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 two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (3.1%). More residents born outside the UK than in just over two thirds of UK towns: 8.6%. Residents whose main language is English: 90% across England’s towns, for comparison. Where 21% of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 18%.
A smaller share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 56% of UK towns: 49%
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: 84% of Reddish · Greater Manchester’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
3.8% of residents said their religion is Muslim. Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Set against 37% across England’s towns, just over two in five residents said they have no religion in Reddish.
46% of adults have never married, more than in 97% 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
623 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%. Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 9.3%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
Among adults, 27% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 27% of adults in Reddish, 34% across England’s towns; 20% have no qualification, against 18%.
From a median age of 34 in North Reddish to 42 in Reddish Vale View
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.
Reddish Vale View is the oldest area, with 18% aged 65 or over; North Reddish the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in North Reddish (30% of households).
Of 267 UK towns its size (16,000 to 30,000 people), the 26th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bangor (26.4), the youngest, and Brixham (55.6), the oldest. Nearest to Reddish in age: Northwich (38.3), Thetford (38.5), Falmouth (38.6) and Heywood (38.7).
Older than Reddish: 6 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reddish | 22,189 | — | 38.6 | 16% | 28% |
| Denton | 36,005 | 1.8 mi | 43 | 20% | 27% |
| Stockport | 117,925 | 2.3 mi | 39.1 | 16% | 30% |
| Bredbury and Woodley | 17,044 | 2.4 mi | 43 | 21% | 27% |
| Audenshaw | 13,397 | 2.6 mi | 40.7 | 18% | 30% |
| Droylsden | 23,916 | 3.1 mi | 40.7 | 17% | 29% |
| Manchester | 470,395 | 3.3 mi | 30.4 | 8.7% | 29% |
| Romiley | 10,902 | 3.4 mi | 49 | 28% | 25% |
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 Reddish’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. Reddish’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 22,291 people in 2021, against 22,189 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 Reddish’s residents
What is the population of Reddish?
The 2021 Census counted 22,189 people in Reddish’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 22,800 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Reddish?
The median age was 38.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 87% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Reddish?
84% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across Greater Manchester’s towns. 8.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Reddish?
41% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.8% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Reddish good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in North Reddish (30% of households). Schools are on Reddish’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.