Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.016% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 97% of UK towns
At 2.2 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.5% of the total. 44% of households live in a detached house, a higher share than in 83% of UK towns. Oundle is home to 6,252 residents in 2,460 households, by the 2021 Census.
+7% since 2011, a pace 50% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Oundle’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,700 people in 2011; 6,200 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2016 to mid-2017: 290 people. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+44%) and 16 to 29 least (−11%).
Oundle: 23% of residents are 65 or over, above 61% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With a median age of 43.8, Oundle is younger than 55% of UK towns. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Irchester, the oldest of Northamptonshire’s towns by this measure, it is 25%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Oundle, 43.8. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
A student town: 12% of adults study full-time
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 Oundle, 41% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 18% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 11% here.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Above 81% of UK towns: 34% of households are one person living alone
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.
24% of households have dependent children; across England’s towns the figure is 29%. The share of one-person households across England’s towns is 30%.
In Oundle, 13% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 64% 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
Households in terraced houses: 19% here and 24% across England’s towns. Every 8th household or so has no car or van. The census found that one in ten households live in a flat or apartment in Oundle.
Oundle sits above 82% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (13%)
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
The largest groups were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (4.2%) and in EU countries (4.1%). Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 97% here, fewer than in three fifths of UK towns. 29% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
56% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 82% 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: 86% of Oundle · Northamptonshire’s towns 77% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, Oundle has 86%. On the census count, 37% of residents said they have no religion. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%.
A smaller share of unpaid carers than 96% of UK towns: 7%
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
31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership (England’s towns: 39%). The share of unpaid carers across England’s towns is 8.7%. Married adults and civil partners account for 50%.
Among adults, 40% 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 40% of adults in Oundle (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 14% (England’s towns: 18%). The highest qualification of 14% is A levels, often students still at university.
624 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people: this is the 216th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Oundle in age: Bracebridge Heath (43.7), Newbridge (43.7), Woburn Sands (43.8) and Wilford (43.9).
4 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Oundle
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oundle | 6,252 | — | 43.8 | 23% | 24% |
| Warmington | 1,045 | 3 mi | 50.7 | 27% | 26% |
| King's Cliffe | 1,581 | 5.9 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 34% |
| Brigstock | 1,436 | 6 mi | 50.9 | 25% | 25% |
| Thrapston | 7,239 | 6.7 mi | 40.8 | 16% | 31% |
| Weldon | 3,042 | 6.8 mi | 40 | 18% | 32% |
| Stilton | 2,365 | 7.6 mi | 45.7 | 22% | 27% |
| Castor and Ailsworth | 1,461 | 8.2 mi | 49.7 | 25% | 26% |
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.
- “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 Oundle’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. Oundle’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,252 people in 2021, against 6,252 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 Oundle’s residents
What is the population of Oundle?
The 2021 Census counted 6,252 people in Oundle’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,200 people in mid-2024, 7% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Oundle?
The median age was 43.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 55% of UK towns. 16% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Oundle?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 77% across Northamptonshire’s towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Oundle?
37% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Oundle good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Oundle’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. 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.