Photo: Julian P Guffogg · CC BY-SA 2.0Broughton ranks below 96% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 6.6%
56% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. The median age in Broughton is 49.7, higher than in 83% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 4,499 people lived here, in 2,038 households. For Broughton, the census puts households in flats at 3.1%.
What the Census says about Broughton’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Broughton at 4,700 in 2011 and 4,400 in 2024, down 5%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 97% 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.
Slower than most: −5% since 2011, behind 97% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Broughton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,700 people in 2011; 4,400 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+21%) and 30 to 44 least (−18%).
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 76% of UK towns, at 8.9%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Compared with 18% across England’s towns, a quarter of residents are 65 or over here. No age band is larger than 50–54: nearly one in ten residents. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Broughton, 49.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 6.5% in Broughton, less than in 92% 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%.
Where 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, Broughton has 4.2%. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across England’s towns is 11%.
Fewer family households than 81% of UK towns: 24% in Broughton
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.
1.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%. To put it in context, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. One-person households are rarer here than in 62% of UK towns.
Broughton ranks above 80% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 42%
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
Just over one in ten households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Households in detached houses: 21% across England’s towns, for comparison.
2.8% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 93% 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
Residents whose main language is English: 99% here and 90% across England’s towns. On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%).
Broughton ranks above 97% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 97%
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: 97% of Broughton · Lincolnshire’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 37% across England’s towns, 38% of residents said they have no religion here. Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 82% 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
Married adults and civil partners: 52%, above 73% of UK towns. On top of that, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care, a higher share than in 87% of UK towns. Adults who have never married: 39% across England’s towns, for comparison. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 130 people.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
23% of Broughton’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 21% have none (18%).
Among 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, the 175th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.7 in Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe. Nearest to Broughton in age: Stamford Bridge (49.7), Netherton (Kirklees) (49.7), Burtonwood (49.7) and Blackhall Colliery (49.8).
Around Broughton, 3 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broughton | 4,499 | — | 49.7 | 25% | 24% |
| Scawby | 1,606 | 2.5 mi | 55.9 | 36% | 19% |
| Brigg | 5,637 | 2.9 mi | 50 | 27% | 23% |
| Wrawby | 1,194 | 3.7 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 29% |
| Scunthorpe | 81,286 | 4.2 mi | 39.5 | 18% | 29% |
| Hibaldstow | 2,022 | 4.2 mi | 48.2 | 26% | 25% |
| Messingham | 3,375 | 4.9 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 22% |
| Barnetby le Wold | 1,841 | 6.1 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 28% |
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 Broughton’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. Broughton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,499 people in 2021, against 4,499 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 Broughton’s residents
What is the population of Broughton?
The 2021 Census counted 4,499 people in Broughton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,400 people in mid-2024, 5% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Broughton?
The median age was 49.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 83% of UK towns. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Broughton?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Lincolnshire’s towns. 2.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Broughton?
38% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Broughton good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Broughton’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.