Photo: Bob Harvey · CC BY-SA 2.0A town of detached houses: 44% of households live in one
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house; in Bourne, 16%. Half of the town’s residents are under 42.4, younger than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. This Lincolnshire town is home to 17,495 residents in 7,485 households, by the 2021 Census. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 53% of the total.
What the Census says about Bourne’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Bourne at 14,400 in 2011 and 19,500 in 2024, up 35%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 95% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Bourne grew +35% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 95% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bourne’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 14,400 people in 2011; 19,500 in 2024.
Change by age ran from +44% for the 0 to 15 to +23% for the 45 to 64. In one year, mid-2022 to mid-2023, the population rose by 670, the most of any year.
Only 9.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Bourne
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 7% of residents. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. In Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe, the oldest of Lincolnshire’s towns by this measure, it is 49%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bourne, 42.4. 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.
Bourne ranks below 68% of UK towns on full-time students: 4.4%
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%.
34% of Bourne’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 26% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year: a tenth of the total.
Above 73% of UK towns: 30% of households have dependent children
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Lincolnshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Households in Bourne hold 2.3 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). For comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. In Bourne, 2.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Few flats: only 9% of households in Bourne 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
14% of households have no car or van; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. Across the comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Bourne ranks below 75% 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
12% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born outside the UK account for 8.6%.
90% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 62% 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: 90% of Bourne · Lincolnshire’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (5.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Indian (0.8%). Bourne has fewer residents with no religion than 64% of UK towns, at 39%. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns: 73%.
30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 68% 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
The figure for married adults and civil partners is 49% in Bourne and 44% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Here, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 28%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 28% of adults in Bourne, 34% across England’s towns; 16% have no qualification, against 18%.
114th youngest of 354 UK towns of 12,000 to 24,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Bourne in age: Birtley (42.4), Normanton (42.4), Brownhills (42.4) and Horwich (42.5).
Every neighbour of Bourne has an older population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bourne | 17,495 | — | 42.4 | 22% | 30% |
| Thurlby | 2,139 | 2 mi | 50.6 | 27% | 26% |
| Morton | 2,180 | 2.4 mi | 47 | 21% | 27% |
| Baston | 1,576 | 3.9 mi | 50.3 | 26% | 26% |
| Langtoft | 2,010 | 5.1 mi | 50 | 25% | 29% |
| Market Deeping | 6,533 | 6.5 mi | 46.8 | 25% | 27% |
| Corby Glen | 1,006 | 6.5 mi | 53.2 | 33% | 25% |
| Ryhall | 1,444 | 7 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Lincolnshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Lincolnshire (or England), summed the same way as Bourne’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. Bourne’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 17,986 people in 2021, against 17,495 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 Bourne’s residents
What is the population of Bourne?
The 2021 Census counted 17,495 people in Bourne’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 19,500 people in mid-2024, 35% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bourne?
The median age was 42.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 66% of UK towns. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bourne?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Lincolnshire’s towns. 8.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bourne?
39% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Bourne good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bourne’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.