Photo: Chris Morgan · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Elsham is over 56.2, older than 97% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Elsham, 17%. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as Christian: 68% here, more than in 99% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Elsham was home to 393 people in 166 households. In Elsham, 5.4% of households have no car or van.
Elsham ranks below 99% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 6.1%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 13% of residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. Typically, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The census found that 31% of residents are 65 or over in Elsham.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
In Elsham, 3.4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 96% 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 just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, Elsham has 10%. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 79% of UK towns, at 1.8%
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.
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. On the census count, 28% of households are one person living alone.
71% of households live in a detached house, more than in 99% 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
11% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. Locally, 1.8% of households live in a flat or apartment.
4.3% born outside the UK, fewer than in 73% 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
The share of residents whose main language is English trails 63% of UK towns: 97%. As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.3%) or in the Middle East and Asia (2%).
A lower share of residents with no religion than 97% of UK towns, at 27%
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: 94% of Elsham · Lincolnshire’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
1% of residents said their religion is Muslim. The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. At 94%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is higher than in nearly two thirds of UK towns.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 99% of UK towns, at 20%
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 number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 5. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. At 57%, the share of married adults and civil partners is higher than in 94% of UK towns. There is little gap on unpaid carers: 8.9%, about the same as across England’s towns.
36% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 36% of adults in Elsham (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 18% (England’s towns: 18%).
Every nearby town is younger than Elsham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elsham | 393 | — | 56.2 | 31% | 17% |
| Barnetby le Wold | 1,841 | 2.2 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 28% |
| Wrawby | 1,194 | 2.4 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 29% |
| Brigg | 5,637 | 3.5 mi | 50 | 27% | 23% |
| Ulceby | 1,667 | 4.7 mi | 46.4 | 21% | 29% |
| Broughton | 4,499 | 5.1 mi | 49.7 | 25% | 24% |
| Barton-upon-Humber | 11,927 | 5.9 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 25% |
| Barrow upon Humber | 2,843 | 6 mi | 50.6 | 25% | 24% |
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 Elsham’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 Elsham’s residents
What is the population of Elsham?
The 2021 Census counted 393 people in Elsham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Elsham?
The median age was 56.2 at the 2021 Census. 6.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Elsham?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Lincolnshire’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Elsham?
27% said they had no religion and 68% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Elsham good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Elsham’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.