Photo: Philip Pankhurst · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 22% of households are one person living alone in Madley
46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 59% in Madley. In 2021, the Census found 745 residents in the village, living in 296 households. Census figures put households in flats at 2.7% locally. Higher than in 83% of UK towns: 32% of households have dependent children.
Madley ranks above 76% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 26%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 (England’s towns: 12%). More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 8% of residents. With a median age of 46.2, Madley is older than 63% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 5.8% in Madley, more than in 80% 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, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Madley, 30% and 27%. Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns. Locally, nearly one in ten 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.
Madley households average 2.5 people, larger than in 89% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Herefordshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 3.7%.
A village of detached houses: 40% of households live in one
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 terraced houses make up 23%, against 24% across England’s towns. 2.7% of households live in a flat, less than in 94% of UK towns; 40% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Locally, just over one in ten households have no car or van.
Residents born outside the UK make up 4.6% in Madley, less than in 69% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 98% of residents have English as their main language; across England’s towns the figure is 90%.
Below 83% of UK towns: 35% of residents said they have no religion
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 Madley · Herefordshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (3.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and Indian (1.1%). For residents with no religion, the comparison across England’s towns is 37%. 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, against 93% in Madley.
In Madley, 29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 77% 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
Set against 8.7% across England’s towns, 11% of residents give unpaid care in Madley. What’s more, 51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a higher share than in 68% of UK towns. By way of comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 28% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 22% hold no qualification (18%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Madley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madley | 745 | — | 46.2 | 26% | 32% |
| Kingstone | 1,500 | 1.6 mi | 40.1 | 18% | 33% |
| Clehonger | 1,218 | 2 mi | 46.1 | 27% | 25% |
| Credenhill | 2,334 | 3.6 mi | 36.8 | 15% | 39% |
| Hereford | 60,471 | 5.6 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 27% |
| Ewyas Harold | 1,037 | 6.5 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 23% |
| Weobley | 1,273 | 7.9 mi | 56.2 | 36% | 20% |
| Bartestree | 1,655 | 9 mi | 43.6 | 16% | 31% |
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.
- “Herefordshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Herefordshire (or England), summed the same way as Madley’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Madley’s residents
What is the population of Madley?
The 2021 Census counted 745 people in Madley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Madley?
The median age was 46.2 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Madley?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Herefordshire’s towns. 4.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Madley?
35% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Madley good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Madley’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). 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.