Photo: Jdhowens90 at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Romiley sits above 85% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (28%)
Compared with 29% across England’s towns, 25% of households have dependent children here. Meanwhile, 15% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 71% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 10,902 residents in 4,829 households. Households without a car or van account for 18%.
Romiley changed by +3% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 70% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Romiley’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,500 people in 2011; 10,900 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+23%) and 45 to 64 least (−11%). No year added more people than mid-2014 to mid-2015: 170.
A median age of 49: Romiley is older than 80% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: 7.5% of residents. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are scarce here: 8.6%, fewer than in 85% of UK towns. In High Lane, the oldest of Greater Manchester’s towns by this measure, it is 37%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Romiley, 49. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Full-time students: 4.1%, a lower share than 82% 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%.
In Romiley, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across England’s towns. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 69% of UK towns
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.
Set against 30% across England’s towns, 32% of households are one person living alone in Romiley. The town has fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 61% of UK towns, at 2.2%.
Households in terraced houses make up 17% in Romiley, less than in 63% 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
With households in detached houses at 25%, Romiley is behind three fifths of UK towns on that count. Elsewhere, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 4.2%, a lower share than 74% of UK towns
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
Of residents born abroad, 14% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. For Romiley, the census puts residents whose main language is English at 98%. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%.
Romiley: 54% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 77% 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: 93% of Romiley · Greater Manchester’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (2.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and Indian (0.4%). Nearly two in five residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 63% of UK towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%. Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British; in Romiley, 93%.
Fewer adults who have never married than 60% of UK towns: 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
Where 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns, Romiley has 49%. One in ten residents give unpaid care. Adults who have never married make up 39% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 34% of its adults qualified to degree level, Romiley compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 18% hold no qualification (18%).
69th highest median age among 397 UK towns of 8,000 to 15,000
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 Romiley in age: Abergavenny (48.9), Berwick-upon-Tweed (49), Frodsham (49) and Verwood (49).
The towns around Romiley are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romiley | 10,902 | — | 49 | 28% | 25% |
| Bredbury and Woodley | 17,044 | 1 mi | 43 | 21% | 27% |
| Marple | 12,963 | 1.7 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 27% |
| Marple Bridge | 4,702 | 1.9 mi | 49 | 26% | 29% |
| Hyde | 35,902 | 2.7 mi | 39.3 | 17% | 31% |
| Denton | 36,005 | 2.9 mi | 43 | 20% | 27% |
| Hazel Grove | 20,163 | 2.9 mi | 45.3 | 24% | 28% |
| Stockport | 117,925 | 3 mi | 39.1 | 16% | 30% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Romiley’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. Romiley’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 10,818 people in 2021, against 10,902 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 Romiley’s residents
What is the population of Romiley?
The 2021 Census counted 10,902 people in Romiley’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,900 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Romiley?
The median age was 49 at the 2021 Census, older than 80% of UK towns. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Romiley?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across Greater Manchester’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Romiley?
39% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Romiley good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Romiley’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. 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.