Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 55.4: Nettleham is older than 97% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, 24% of households live in a terraced house; in Nettleham, 6.1%. There were 1,583 households in the town at the 2021 Census, home to 3,418 residents. The census found that 62% of residents describe themselves as Christian locally. At 22%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in 99% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Nettleham’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Nettleham’s residents are under 55.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 36% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Nettleham sits above 97% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (36%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with 9.7% of residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The census found that 6.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Nettleham.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Nettleham, 55.4. 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. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Full-time students make up 3.5% in Nettleham, less than in 94% 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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Nettleham comes in at 8.2%. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Nettleham sits below 92% of UK towns for households with dependent children (21%)
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 share of shared households of unrelated adults is 1.4%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. On average, 2.2 people share a household. Measured more widely, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Above 99% of UK towns: 72% of households live in a detached house
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, 3.7% of households live in a flat or apartment in Nettleham. Households without a car or van account for 13%. To put it in context, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
In Nettleham, 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 91% 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
Where 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns, Nettleham has 4.5%. Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%).
Nettleham ranks below 89% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 32%
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: 96% of Nettleham · Lincolnshire’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 96% in Nettleham and 73% across England’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (1%). Across England’s towns, residents with no religion come to 37%.
Nettleham ranks above 96% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 58%
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 share of unpaid carers tops 84% of UK towns: 11%. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. For 106 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 40% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 40% of adults in Nettleham (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 13% (England’s towns: 18%).
749 UK towns of 2,500 to 5,000 people: this is the 37th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Nettleham in age: Tickhill (55.3), Seaton Sluice (55.4), Mere (55.4) and Tywardreath (55.7).
Nettleham is older 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nettleham | 3,418 | — | 55.4 | 36% | 21% |
| Sudbrooke | 1,737 | 1.7 mi | 49.4 | 26% | 29% |
| Cherry Willingham | 3,446 | 2.2 mi | 51.6 | 33% | 22% |
| Dunholme | 1,869 | 2.4 mi | 47 | 24% | 29% |
| Welton | 4,586 | 2.9 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 31% |
| Fiskerton | 1,202 | 3.3 mi | 52.3 | 30% | 23% |
| Washingborough and Heighington | 6,386 | 3.5 mi | 50.7 | 29% | 24% |
| Lincoln | 104,553 | 3.8 mi | 33.7 | 14% | 25% |
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 Nettleham’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 Nettleham’s residents
What is the population of Nettleham?
The 2021 Census counted 3,418 people in Nettleham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Nettleham?
The median age was 55.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 97% of UK towns. 6.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 36% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Nettleham?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Lincolnshire’s towns. 4.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Nettleham?
32% said they had no religion and 62% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Nettleham good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Nettleham’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.