Photo: DS Pugh · CC BY-SA 2.069% of households live in a detached house, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
Here 4.8% of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. At the 2021 Census Pannal was home to 2,530 people in 963 households. Across Pannal, a fifth of households are one person living alone. This North Yorkshire town has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 98% of UK towns, at 7.2%.
What the Census says about Pannal’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Pannal’s residents are under 50.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% 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).
Pannal is older than 86% of UK towns: a median age of 50.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With residents aged 65 and over at 30%, Pannal is ahead of 90% of UK towns on that count. In Filey, the oldest of North Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Pannal, 50.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Pannal, 3.9% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 86% 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%.
One in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 97% of UK towns, at 1.3%
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. Few places have as many households with dependent children: 31% here, more than in nearly four fifths of UK towns. Measured more widely, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Only 6% of households in Pannal have no car or van
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
24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, against 9.6% in Pannal. Every 17th household or so has no car or van.
99% of residents have English as their main language, a share 95% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.9%). The benchmark for residents whose main language is English across England’s towns: 90%. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 18% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 61%, a higher share than 95% 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: 93% of Pannal · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and Indian (0.3%). Pannal has fewer residents with no religion than 91% of UK towns, at 31%. Measured more widely, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%; Pannal has 93%.
Only 21% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Pannal
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
Married adults and civil partners: 62%, above 99% of UK towns. Here, 7.3% of residents give unpaid care. To put it in context, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 55% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 55% of adults in Pannal (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 8% (England’s towns: 18%).
57th highest median age among 219 UK towns of 2,500 to 3,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Keele is the youngest (20.6); St Mary's Bay the oldest (60.8). Nearest to Pannal in age: Smallfield (50), Charlbury (50.1), Kelsall (50.3) and Laleham (50.3).
Pannal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pannal | 2,530 | — | 50.2 | 30% | 31% |
| Harrogate | 75,522 | 2.4 mi | 44.5 | 21% | 25% |
| Spofforth | 1,175 | 3.7 mi | 49.5 | 25% | 27% |
| Killinghall | 1,476 | 4.5 mi | 43.5 | 21% | 35% |
| Knaresborough | 15,781 | 4.7 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 26% |
| Hampsthwaite | 1,169 | 5.1 mi | 46 | 27% | 29% |
| Pool-in-Wharfedale | 1,991 | 5.3 mi | 44.5 | 20% | 35% |
| East Keswick | 1,145 | 5.5 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 28% |
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 Pannal’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 Pannal’s residents
What is the population of Pannal?
The 2021 Census counted 2,530 people in Pannal’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Pannal?
The median age was 50.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 86% of UK towns. 7.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Pannal?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 6.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pannal?
31% said they had no religion and 61% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Pannal good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Pannal’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.