Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.084% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 79% of UK towns
Households without a car or van make up 21%, against 24% across England’s towns. By contrast, half of Grantham’s residents are under 41.6, younger than in 71% of UK towns. The town is home to 44,906 residents in 19,557 households, by the 2021 Census. Locally, just over a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Faster growth than 53% of UK towns: Grantham changed by +8% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Grantham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 41,800 people in 2011; 45,200 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+29%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (−11%). The steepest year was mid-2013 to mid-2014, up 620 people.
10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 64% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With residents aged 65 and over at 19%, Grantham is behind 70% of UK towns on that count. 50–54 is the most common age band: 7.2% of residents. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Grantham, 41.6. 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.
More students than 60% of UK towns: 5.1% of adults in Grantham
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%.
In Grantham, 27% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 32% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Here, 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.
In Grantham, 2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, more than in 66% of UK towns
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 with dependent children make up 29%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Each household has 2.3 people on average. Across England’s towns, shared households of unrelated adults come to 4.3%.
More households in flats than 66% of UK towns: 14%
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
Nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. Households in detached houses: 28% of the total.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 84% of UK towns, at 14%
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 make up 91%, against 90% across England’s towns. On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (9.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.5%).
52% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 66% 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: 84% of Grantham · Lincolnshire’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 37% across England’s towns, nearly two in five residents said they have no religion here. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (9.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Indian (1%). The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%.
45% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 71% 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
For 1,205 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. At 8.5%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in 73% of UK towns. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Grantham, 25% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 20% have no qualification at all (18%).
From a median age of 36 in Grantham South West to 47 in Ancaster, Caythorpe & Claypole
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Ancaster, Caythorpe & Claypole is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; Grantham South West the youngest (median age 36). Families with children are most common in Grantham South West (39% of households).
79th oldest of 168 UK towns of 31,000 to 61,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Canterbury (27.5) and the oldest Rustington (56.2). Nearest to Grantham in age: Windsor (41.5), Blyth (41.6), Swadlincote (41.7) and Caversham (41.8).
Grantham is younger than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grantham | 44,906 | — | 41.6 | 19% | 29% |
| Great Gonerby | 1,880 | 1.8 mi | 51.2 | 29% | 23% |
| Barrowby | 2,041 | 1.9 mi | 51.1 | 30% | 23% |
| Bottesford | 3,046 | 6.9 mi | 51.6 | 29% | 25% |
| Long Bennington | 2,149 | 7.3 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 24% |
| Colsterworth | 1,296 | 7.6 mi | 49.9 | 26% | 22% |
| Corby Glen | 1,006 | 8.8 mi | 53.2 | 33% | 25% |
| Claypole | 1,352 | 8.9 mi | 49.9 | 21% | 26% |
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.
- “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 Grantham’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. Grantham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 44,618 people in 2021, against 44,906 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 Grantham’s residents
What is the population of Grantham?
The 2021 Census counted 44,906 people in Grantham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 45,200 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Grantham?
The median age was 41.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 71% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Grantham?
84% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Lincolnshire’s towns. 14% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Grantham?
39% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Grantham good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Grantham South West (39% of households). Schools are on Grantham’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.