Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.047% of residents said they have no religion, a share 87% of UK towns don’t reach
The median age in Rushden is 42.3, lower than in 67% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 31,689 people lived locally, in 13,568 households. For Rushden, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 2.8%. 13% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns.
What the Census says about Rushden’s people
More with no religion than most
47% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 44% 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.
Slower than most: +7% since 2011, behind 52% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Rushden’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 29,300 people in 2011; 31,400 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2015 to mid-2016: 550. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+29%) and 16 to 29 least (−4%).
Only 20% of residents are 65 or over in Rushden
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Where 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, Rushden has 11%. No age band is larger than 50–54: 7.8% of residents. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Rushden, 42.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 60% of UK towns: 4.6% of adults are full-time students
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Rushden, 28% and 30%. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 8.4% locally. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.3 people per household, more than in 57% 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 with dependent children: 29%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. The share of one-person households stands at 30%.
Rushden ranks above 71% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 26%
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 21% across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in Rushden comes in at 26%. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. The share of households without a car or van stands at 15%.
More residents born outside the UK than 74% of UK towns: 10%
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 figure for residents whose main language is English is 95% in Rushden and 90% across England’s towns. The share of residents born outside the UK across England’s towns is 18%. The largest groups were born in EU countries (5.8%) and in Africa (1.5%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 87%, a lower share than 75% 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: 87% of Rushden · Northamptonshire’s towns 77% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 44% of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across England’s towns is 46%. Set beside that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (6.6%), Mixed or multiple (2.1%) and African (1.3%).
Rushden sits above 66% of UK towns for adults who have never married (35%)
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
Unpaid carers make up 8.7%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Lower than in 70% of UK towns: 45% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Measured more widely, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 779 residents.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 23% of adults in Rushden (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 20% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 39 in Rushden East to 47 in Rushden South
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Rushden South is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Rushden East the youngest (median age 39). Families with children are most common in Rushden West & North (31% of households).
Ranked by age, 106th youngest of 217 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Hatfield is the youngest (30.3); Rustington the oldest (56.2). Nearest to Rushden in age: Chorley (42.2), Chichester (42.2), Burgess Hill (42.3) and Aberdare (42.3).
Rushden and its 7 nearest towns: 5 of them are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushden | 31,689 | — | 42.3 | 20% | 29% |
| Wymington | 1,000 | 1.2 mi | 36.3 | 15% | 37% |
| Higham Ferrers | 8,825 | 1.6 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 32% |
| Irchester | 4,543 | 2 mi | 47.9 | 25% | 25% |
| Irthlingborough | 9,308 | 2.8 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 30% |
| Stanwick | 1,891 | 3.5 mi | 51.3 | 27% | 27% |
| Wollaston | 3,564 | 3.9 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 30% |
| Finedon | 4,554 | 4.1 mi | 46.8 | 24% | 23% |
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 Rushden’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. Rushden’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 31,689 people in 2021, against 31,689 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 Rushden’s residents
What is the population of Rushden?
The 2021 Census counted 31,689 people in Rushden’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 31,400 people in mid-2024, 7% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Rushden?
The median age was 42.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 67% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rushden?
87% 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 Rushden?
47% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Rushden good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Rushden West & North (31% of households). Schools are on Rushden’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.