Photo: Derek Voller · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 36: York is younger than 94% of UK towns
Married adults and civil partners are rarer here than in 97% of UK towns. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 7.8% in York. The 2021 Census put the city’s population at 141,696, in 59,819 households. Set against 21% across England’s towns, just over one in ten households live in a detached house in the city.
What the Census says about York’s people
A student city
The 2021 Census counted 22,406 full-time students aged 16 and over, 19% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 20% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
A city people move to
17% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns, and 3.8% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of York’s residents are under 36 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 20% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 40% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
A +7% change since 2011: York grew faster than 50% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. York’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 139,800 people in 2011; 150,300 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2022: 2,790 more people. By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+15%) and the 0 to 15 group least (−2%).
Residents aged 15 to 24: 20%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 18%; York has 16%. To put it in context, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ York, 36. 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.
19% of adults are full-time students, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
Leave the students aside and York’s other adults differ from England’s: 40% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. The census found that 17% of residents lived at another address a year earlier here. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
York ranks below 82% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 24%
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.
33% of households are one person living alone; across England’s towns the figure is 30%. As a reference point, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
More car-free households than 93% of UK towns: 28% in York
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 23%, the share of households in flats is in line with the figure across England’s towns. Higher than in just over four fifths of UK towns: 30% of households live in a terraced house. Measured more widely, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Above 82% of UK towns: 13% of residents were born outside the UK
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
Residents whose main language is English make up 94%, against 90% across England’s towns. Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion: 49%, a higher share than 92% 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: 85% of York · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, York has 85%. As a yardstick, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Two in five residents describe themselves as Christian.
Above 98% of UK towns: 49% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
Here 7.2% of residents give unpaid care, where the figure across England’s towns is 8.7%. For adults who have never married, the comparison across England’s towns is 39%. 2,443 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week.
39% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 39% of adults in York (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 13% (England’s towns: 18%). Many still at university: 23% list A levels as their highest qualification.
From a median age of 20 in Fulford, Heslington & University to 47 in Heworth North & Stockton
The city’s 16 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Heworth North & Stockton is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Fulford, Heslington & University the youngest (median age 20). Students cluster in Fulford, Heslington & University, where 64% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Westfield, Chapelfields & Foxwood (32% of households).
47 UK towns of 99,000 to 191,000 people: this is the 12th 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 Eastbourne (45.2), the oldest. Nearest to York in age: Peterborough (35.9), Colchester (35.9), Rochdale (36.2) and Basildon (36.6).
6 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than York
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York | 141,696 | — | 36 | 16% | 24% |
| Heslington | 1,787 | 1.9 mi | 19.8 | 9.9% | 22% |
| Osbaldwick | 2,313 | 2.3 mi | 43.2 | 20% | 21% |
| Huntington | 12,420 | 2.4 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 23% |
| Bishopthorpe | 3,333 | 2.7 mi | 48.5 | 26% | 29% |
| Upper Poppleton | 3,520 | 2.9 mi | 51.1 | 32% | 27% |
| Skelton (York) | 1,380 | 3.3 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 26% |
| Copmanthorpe | 3,671 | 3.6 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 27% |
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.
- “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 York’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. York’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 144,077 people in 2021, against 141,696 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 York’s residents
What is the population of York?
The 2021 Census counted 141,696 people in York’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 150,300 people in mid-2024, 7% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in York?
The median age was 36 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 20% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
Is York a student city?
Yes: 19% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (22,406 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In Fulford, Heslington & University, 64% of adults were students.
How diverse is York?
85% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in York?
49% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.5% were Muslim and 7% didn’t answer.
Is York good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Westfield, Chapelfields & Foxwood (32% of households). Schools are on York’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.