Photo: DS Pugh · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 3.4% of households in Dalton have no car or van
19% of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns. Households in flats account for 2.7%. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are common here: 58%, more than in 90% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 825 residents in 329 households.
Fewer young people than 97% of UK towns: 7.5% are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 8.1% of residents. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in 79% of UK towns: 18%. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In Filey, the oldest of North Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 2.6%
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%.
6.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 91% of UK towns, at 1.5%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against North Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The average household has 2.5 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across England’s towns is 4.3%. The share of households with dependent children stands at 31%.
More detached houses than 89% of UK towns: 50% of households
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
At 24%, households in terraced houses sit close to the figure across England’s towns. 2.7% of households live in a flat, less than in 94% of UK towns; 50% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 78% of UK towns, at 99%
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
Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK; in Dalton, 5%. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.5%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). Typically, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 89% 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: 96% of Dalton · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion make up 36%, against 37% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
In Dalton, 60% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 98% 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
Across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 8.7%; Dalton has 7.3%. For Dalton, the census puts adults who have never married at 26%. Married adults and civil partners: 44% across England’s towns, for comparison.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 30%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 30% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 13% hold no qualification (18%).
Dalton and its 7 nearest towns: 6 of them are 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalton | 825 | — | 43.3 | 18% | 31% |
| Sowerby | 4,727 | 3.1 mi | 45 | 25% | 26% |
| Thirsk | 5,891 | 3.7 mi | 47.3 | 24% | 21% |
| Dishforth | 1,266 | 3.8 mi | 33.8 | 8.8% | 45% |
| Langthorpe | 1,294 | 6.2 mi | 45.8 | 20% | 29% |
| Boroughbridge | 3,064 | 6.5 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 24% |
| Easingwold | 5,036 | 7.4 mi | 51.8 | 31% | 20% |
| Ripon | 16,593 | 8.3 mi | 46.5 | 25% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “North Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in North Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Dalton’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 Dalton’s residents
What is the population of Dalton?
The 2021 Census counted 825 people in Dalton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Dalton?
The median age was 43.3 at the 2021 Census. 7.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dalton?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dalton?
36% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Dalton good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Dalton’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.