Photo: David Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 18.9: Bailrigg is younger than 99% of UK towns
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 62% here and 73% across England’s towns. There were 108 households in Bailrigg at the 2021 Census, home to 4,788 residents. Across Bailrigg, 2.7% of households live in a flat or apartment. More households in detached houses than in 96% of UK towns: 59%.
What the Census says about Bailrigg’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 4,490 full-time students aged 16 and over, 95% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 90% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Bailrigg’s residents are under 18.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 90% are 15 to 24 and 1.6% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More born abroad than most towns
29% of residents were born outside the UK, against 10% across Lancashire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (13%) and in EU countries (12%). Where people were born ↓
A town people move to
78% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 7.4 times the share across England’s towns, and 7.8% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over: 1.6%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 15–19: 62% of residents, 10.7 times the share across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bailrigg, 18.9. 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.
Full-time students: 95%, a higher share than 99% 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%.
Leave the students aside and Bailrigg’s other adults differ from England’s: 42% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. At 78%, the share of residents who moved in within the year is higher than in 99% of UK 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.
A smaller share of one-person households than 93% of UK towns: 23%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Lancashire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Households average 2.5 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%. The census found that a quarter of households have dependent children in Bailrigg. Shared houses stand out: 3.7% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 89% of UK towns.
11% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 87% 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
One in ten households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%).
Bailrigg: 29% of residents born outside the UK
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
Across England’s towns, nine in ten residents have English as their main language; in Bailrigg, 80%. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%.
Only 26% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Bailrigg
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: 62% of Bailrigg · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
52% of residents said they have no religion; across England’s towns the figure is 37%. Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian. The groups that follow White British are Other White (13%), Chinese (8.5%) and Indian (3.8%).
3.9% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 99% 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
Students and young renters account for much of that. Locally, 2.6% of residents give unpaid care. 95% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a higher share than in 99% of UK towns.
A degree-level qualification for 17% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 17% of adults in Bailrigg, 34% across England’s towns; 1.6% have no qualification, against 18%. A levels top the qualifications of 75%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
Ranked by age, 1st youngest of 695 UK towns this size
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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe (64.7), the oldest. Nearest to Bailrigg in age: Little Eriswell (23.9) and Pirbright (24.7).
Every nearby town is older than Bailrigg
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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.
- “Lancashire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Lancashire (or England), summed the same way as Bailrigg’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 Bailrigg’s residents
What is the population of Bailrigg?
The 2021 Census counted 4,788 people in Bailrigg’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bailrigg?
The median age was 18.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 99% of UK towns. 90% of residents were 15 to 24 and 1.6% were 65 or over.
Is Bailrigg a student town?
Yes: 95% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (4,490 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Bailrigg?
62% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 29% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bailrigg?
52% said they had no religion and 26% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.2% were Muslim and 14% didn’t answer.
Is Bailrigg good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bailrigg’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.