Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 55.1: Polebrook is older than 97% of UK towns
6.6% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are common here: 59%, more than in 96% of UK towns. There were 169 households in Polebrook at the 2021 Census, home to 444 residents. Locally, 58% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 95% of UK towns, at 33%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops just over three fifths of UK towns: 10%. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 94% 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%.
Set against 7.9% across England’s towns, 6.7% of adults are full-time students in Polebrook. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Fewer people live alone than in 99% of UK towns: 18% of households
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 3.6%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. There are 2.4 people in the average household. Fewer households with dependent children than in 63% of UK towns: 26%. Typically, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Only 3% of households live in a flat or apartment in Polebrook
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
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses in Polebrook comes in at 10%. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 77% of UK towns, at 11%
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
Residents whose main language is English make up 97%, against 90% across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (4.1%) and in Africa (3.6%). The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns.
In Polebrook, 88% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 72% 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: 88% of Polebrook · Northamptonshire’s towns 77% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (7.4%), Mixed or multiple (2.7%) and African (0.5%). As a reference point, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 35%, fewer than in 83% of UK towns.
Polebrook ranks below 98% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 22%
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
6 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. More married adults and civil partners than in 97% of UK towns: 59%. Set beside that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. In Polebrook, 9.8% of residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 41%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 41% of its adults qualified to degree level, Polebrook compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 8.5% hold no qualification (18%). Many of the 16% whose highest qualification is A levels are students working towards a degree.
The towns around Polebrook are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polebrook | 444 | — | 55.1 | 33% | 26% |
| Oundle | 6,252 | 2.1 mi | 43.8 | 23% | 24% |
| Warmington | 1,045 | 2.6 mi | 50.7 | 27% | 26% |
| Stilton | 2,365 | 5.9 mi | 45.7 | 22% | 27% |
| Sawtry | 5,870 | 6.4 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 28% |
| Thrapston | 7,239 | 6.9 mi | 40.8 | 16% | 31% |
| King's Cliffe | 1,581 | 7.5 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 34% |
| Brigstock | 1,436 | 7.7 mi | 50.9 | 25% | 25% |
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 Polebrook’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 Polebrook’s residents
What is the population of Polebrook?
The 2021 Census counted 444 people in Polebrook’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Polebrook?
The median age was 55.1 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Polebrook?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 77% across Northamptonshire’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Polebrook?
35% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Polebrook good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Polebrook’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.