Photo: Cj1340 at en.wikipedia · Public domainRoade is younger than 82% of UK towns: a median age of 39.7
Nearly a third of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. Census day 2021: 3,571 residents and 1,511 households in Roade. In Roade, 10% of households have no car or van. Lower than in 79% of UK towns: 13% of households live in a terraced house.
What the Census says about Roade’s people
More with no religion than most
47% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 45% 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).
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 82% of UK towns, at 8.7%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 30–34: 9.7% of residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. Here, 18% of residents are 65 or over. 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+
■ Roade, 39.7. 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.
Roade sits below 68% of UK towns for full-time students (4.4%)
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%.
By its share of residents who moved in within the year (9.2%), Roade is above nearly three fifths of UK towns. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
25% of households are one person living alone, below 84% of UK towns
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.
Households average 2.4 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. As a reference point, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. For Roade, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 2.5%.
Below 75% of UK towns: 6.5% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
In Roade, 31% of households live in a detached house, beside 21% across England’s towns. For comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Roade ranks above 62% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 7.7%
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 newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 8.3% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). 98% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 51% of UK towns. Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.8%).
47% of residents said they have no religion, a share 85% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 90% of Roade · Northamptonshire’s towns 77% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 90%, against 73% across England’s towns. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%. Here, 45% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
In Roade, 7.3% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
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
Adults who have never married make up 34%, against 39% across England’s towns. Higher than in 53% of UK towns: 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Set beside that, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. 62 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week.
32% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
15% of Roade’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 32% have one at degree level (34%).
83rd lowest median age among 749 UK towns of 2,500 to 5,000
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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Milford on Sea (64.6), the oldest. Nearest to Roade in age: Shotton Colliery (39.7), Tibshelf (39.7), Silsoe (39.7) and Silver End (39.7).
Every nearby town is older than Roade
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roade | 3,571 | — | 39.7 | 18% | 32% |
| Hartwell | 1,493 | 2 mi | 44.7 | 20% | 31% |
| Blisworth | 1,603 | 2.1 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 22% |
| Collingtree and Milton Malsor | 1,514 | 2.8 mi | 48 | 21% | 29% |
| Hanslope | 2,161 | 4 mi | 45.8 | 24% | 24% |
| Yardley Gobion | 1,283 | 4.3 mi | 48.9 | 24% | 27% |
| Towcester | 11,333 | 4.5 mi | 40.5 | 17% | 29% |
| Castlethorpe | 1,112 | 5.2 mi | 45.9 | 21% | 28% |
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 Roade’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 Roade’s residents
What is the population of Roade?
The 2021 Census counted 3,571 people in Roade’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Roade?
The median age was 39.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 82% of UK towns. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Roade?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 77% across Northamptonshire’s towns. 7.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Roade?
47% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Roade good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Roade’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.