A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of UK towns, at 9.7%
Where 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, Onley has 4.1%. The 2021 Census counted 1,667 residents in 155 households. The share of adults who have never married stands at 63%. Residents who describe themselves as White British are rarer here than in 95% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Onley’s people
A village people move to
18% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Onley’s residents are under 37.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 9.9% are 15 to 24 and 9.7% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Half of Onley is under 37.9, younger than 89% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 25–29, with 16% of residents, 2.4 times the share across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 9.9%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
12% women, 88% men
About 13 women for every 100 men. Across England, 51% of residents are women. A large institution, such as a prison, barracks, boarding school, university or care home, can tilt a town’s split: the census counts the people living there as residents.
Onley ranks above 98% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 18%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 15% of Onley’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 35%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. On full-time students, Onley sits lower than nearly four fifths of UK towns: 4.2%. The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns: 11%.
Only 21% of households are one person living alone in Onley
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Northamptonshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Nothing unusual on shared households of unrelated adults: 3.9%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Households here average 2.5 people each. Few places have so few households with dependent children: 26% here, fewer than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. Set beside that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Households without a car or van make up 4.1% in Onley, less than in 99% of UK towns
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 21% across England’s towns, 25% of households live in a detached house in Onley. 2% of households live in a flat or apartment. Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van.
10% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 75% 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 nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, Onley has 95%. Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (3.5%) and in EU countries (2.7%).
Onley ranks below 92% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 31%
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: 65% of Onley · Northamptonshire’s towns 77% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 45% in Onley. Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Behind White British, the largest groups are Mixed or multiple (8%), Other White (5.4%) and Caribbean (5%).
Fewer married adults and civil partners than 99% of UK towns: 19%
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
4.6% of residents give unpaid care (England’s towns: 8.7%). Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 20%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Onley, 19%, while 20% hold one at degree level (34%).
A younger town than 5 of the 7 around it: Onley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onley | 1,667 | — | 37.9 | 9.7% | 26% |
| Dunchurch | 2,603 | 2 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 29% |
| Braunston | 1,519 | 2.9 mi | 52.4 | 31% | 23% |
| Kilsby | 1,341 | 3 mi | 52.2 | 32% | 23% |
| Rugby | 78,130 | 3.2 mi | 39.2 | 17% | 30% |
| Cawston | 6,475 | 3.3 mi | 34.9 | 9.2% | 49% |
| Clifton upon Dunsmore | 1,216 | 3.9 mi | 50.3 | 27% | 22% |
| Long Lawford | 4,369 | 4.4 mi | 35.3 | 13% | 41% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Northamptonshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Northamptonshire (or England), summed the same way as Onley’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 Onley’s residents
What is the population of Onley?
The 2021 Census counted 1,667 people in Onley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Onley?
The median age was 37.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 9.7% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Onley?
65% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 77% across Northamptonshire’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Onley?
31% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 10% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Onley good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Onley’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.