Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households without a car or van than 97% of UK towns, at 32%
With a median age of 39.7, Grimsby is younger than 82% of UK towns. For Grimsby, the census puts households in terraced houses at 39%. There were 38,017 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 85,915 residents. Here a third of households are one person living alone, where the figure across England’s towns is 30%.
What the Census says about Grimsby’s people
More with no religion than most
50% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 42% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Grimsby at 88,400 in 2011 and 87,700 in 2024, down 1%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 88% 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.
From 2011 to 2024, 88% of UK towns grew faster than Grimsby: −1%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Grimsby’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 88,400 people in 2011; 87,700 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+16%) and 16 to 29 least (−20%).
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11% in Grimsby, more than in 86% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Nothing unusual on residents aged 65 and over: 18%, close to the figure across England’s towns. The wider picture: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.3% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Grimsby, 39.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
5.7% of adults are full-time students, more than in 79% 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%.
In Grimsby, 9.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across England’s 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.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 65% 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.
On households with dependent children, 29% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.8%.
14% of households live in a detached 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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 14% of households live in a flat or apartment in Grimsby. To put it in context, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Fewer residents whose main language is English than 79% of UK towns: 95%
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
The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 27% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). The benchmark for residents whose main language is English across England’s towns: 90%. The census found that 8.3% of residents were born outside the UK in Grimsby.
Grimsby ranks above 93% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 50%
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: 91% of Grimsby · Lincolnshire’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Islam is the religion of 1.4% of residents. Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. 42% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 90% of UK towns. On top of that, the figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 91% in Grimsby and 73% across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners: 39%, a lower share than 93% 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
2,684 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Elsewhere, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Few places have as many adults who have never married: 40% here, more than in 90% of UK towns. On unpaid carers, 9.3% here is much the same as across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 20%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 20% of adults in Grimsby (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 26% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 32 in New Clee to 55 in New Waltham
The town’s 14 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
New Waltham is the oldest area, with 35% aged 65 or over; New Clee the youngest (median age 32). Families with children are most common in Nunsthorpe (37% of households).
Of 88 UK towns its size (60,000 to 116,000 people), the 42nd youngest
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 Salford (29.8), the youngest, and Paignton (48.4), the oldest. Nearest to Grimsby in age: Worcester (39.5), Kettering (39.6), St Albans (39.7) and Wakefield (39.8).
The towns around Grimsby are all older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grimsby | 85,915 | — | 39.7 | 18% | 29% |
| Cleethorpes | 29,660 | 2.4 mi | 44 | 22% | 26% |
| Waltham | 6,204 | 2.9 mi | 53.6 | 32% | 22% |
| Humberston and New Waltham | 14,861 | 3.1 mi | 51.2 | 28% | 23% |
| Healing | 3,201 | 3.1 mi | 44.4 | 19% | 33% |
| Laceby | 3,284 | 3.2 mi | 49.1 | 25% | 27% |
| Holton le Clay | 3,823 | 3.9 mi | 50.6 | 27% | 23% |
| Stallingborough | 1,190 | 4.1 mi | 50.4 | 28% | 24% |
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 Grimsby’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. Grimsby’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 86,140 people in 2021, against 85,915 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 Grimsby’s residents
What is the population of Grimsby?
The 2021 Census counted 85,915 people in Grimsby’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 87,700 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Grimsby?
The median age was 39.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 82% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Grimsby?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Lincolnshire’s towns. 8.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Grimsby?
50% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.4% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Grimsby good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Nunsthorpe (37% of households). Schools are on Grimsby’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.