Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents with no religion make up 28% in Spalding, less than in 96% of UK towns
Here 43% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. Locally, 5.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Half of Spalding’s residents are under 40.7, younger than in 77% of UK towns. This Lincolnshire town had 30,552 residents in 12,923 households at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Spalding’s people
More born abroad than most towns
30% of residents were born outside the UK, against 9.9% across Lincolnshire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (26%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.7%). Where people were born ↓
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.
Since 2011, Spalding has grown +13%, faster than 71% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Spalding’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 28,800 people in 2011; 32,700 in 2024.
The 45 to 64 group saw the biggest change (+22%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (−12%). The steepest year was mid-2013 to mid-2014, up 640 people.
Spalding: 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, above 67% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 18% across England’s towns, 19% of residents are 65 or over in Spalding. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The largest age band is 30–34: 7.8% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Spalding, 40.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 4.3% of adults are full-time students in Spalding
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 Spalding, nearly a quarter of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 40% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 11% locally. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Larger households than 68% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average
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 one-person households is 28%, against 30% across England’s towns. By contrast, households with dependent children are more common here than in 71% of UK towns.
Only 15% of households live in a terraced house in Spalding
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
In Spalding, one in ten households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. Locally, nearly a fifth of households have no car or van. For households in terraced houses, the comparison across England’s towns is 24%.
Residents born outside the UK: 30%, a higher share than 98% 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 35%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
In Spalding, 74% of residents have English as their main language, beside 90% across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (26%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.7%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
63% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 97% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 68% of Spalding · Lincolnshire’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British trails 94% of UK towns: 68%. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (26%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (0.9%).
Fewer unpaid carers than 93% of UK towns: 7.4%
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
681 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Few places have as many adults who have never married: 35% here, more than in 65% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 8.7%. At 44%, the share of married adults and civil partners is in line with the figure across England’s towns.
21% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 21% of adults in Spalding, 34% across England’s towns; 25% have no qualification, against 18%.
From a median age of 39 in Spalding North to 42 in Spalding East
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Spalding East is the oldest area, with 21% aged 65 or over; Spalding North the youngest (median age 39). Families with children are most common in Spalding North (30% of households).
233 UK towns of 21,000 to 41,000 people: this is the 72nd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Egham is the youngest (31.1); Rustington the oldest (56.2). Nearest to Spalding in age: Darwen (40.6), Droylsden (40.7), Caterham (40.8) and Longbenton (40.9).
Spalding 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spalding | 30,552 | — | 40.7 | 19% | 30% |
| Pinchbeck | 4,275 | 2 mi | 45.6 | 26% | 27% |
| Cowbit | 1,366 | 3.2 mi | 42.3 | 19% | 28% |
| Moulton | 1,605 | 3.9 mi | 53.1 | 32% | 23% |
| Surfleet | 1,042 | 4.1 mi | 53.8 | 31% | 21% |
| Moulton Chapel | 1,120 | 4.1 mi | 48.8 | 24% | 27% |
| Deeping St Nicholas | 1,300 | 4.8 mi | 42.9 | 14% | 35% |
| Whaplode | 1,106 | 5.3 mi | 52.1 | 30% | 20% |
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 Spalding’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. Spalding’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 31,854 people in 2021, against 30,552 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 Spalding’s residents
What is the population of Spalding?
The 2021 Census counted 30,552 people in Spalding’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 32,700 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Spalding?
The median age was 40.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 77% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Spalding?
68% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Lincolnshire’s towns. 30% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Spalding?
28% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 7.5% didn’t answer.
Is Spalding good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Spalding North (30% of households). Schools are on Spalding’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.