Photo: Kokai · CC BY-SA 2.0Wilby is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 56.2
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Wilby, 17%. Households in flats: 2.3% of the total. At 36%, the share of one-person households is higher than in 92% of UK towns. The village’s 299 households held 644 residents at the 2021 Census.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of UK towns, at 36%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: just over one in ten residents, 2.4 times the share across England’s towns. Here, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
In Wilby, 6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 97% 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%.
The share of full-time students trails 75% of UK towns: 4.2%. By way of comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 86% 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.
By its share of shared households of unrelated adults (2%), Wilby is below 69% of UK towns.
A smaller share of households in terraced houses than 55% of UK towns: 19%
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 detached houses make up 30%, against 21% across England’s towns. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. The census found that 16% of households have no car or van in Wilby.
Wilby: 8.7% of residents were born outside the UK, above 68% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.7%) and in Africa (1.9%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are scarce here: 96%, fewer than in 72% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 67% of UK towns, at 89%
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: 89% of Wilby · Northamptonshire’s towns 77% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Just over half of residents describe themselves as Christian; across England’s towns the figure is 46%. The wider picture: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Next after White British come Other White (4.3%), Mixed or multiple (2.8%) and Indian (2.2%).
Adults who have never married: 28%, a lower share than 82% 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
The share of married adults and civil partners is 47%, against 44% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers are more common here than in just over three fifths of UK towns. By way of comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Some 17 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
Qualified to degree level: 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Wilby’s adults: 23% with a degree-level qualification and 28% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Wilby is younger than 1 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilby | 644 | — | 56.2 | 36% | 17% |
| Great Doddington | 1,147 | 1.1 mi | 51.8 | 29% | 23% |
| Wellingborough | 54,421 | 1.5 mi | 38.6 | 16% | 32% |
| Earls Barton | 6,067 | 1.8 mi | 43.1 | 21% | 29% |
| Wollaston | 3,564 | 3.3 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 30% |
| Sywell and Overstone | 1,636 | 3.3 mi | 57.2 | 34% | 17% |
| Irchester | 4,543 | 3.6 mi | 47.9 | 25% | 25% |
| Cogenhoe | 1,475 | 4.3 mi | 49.9 | 26% | 25% |
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 Wilby’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 Wilby’s residents
What is the population of Wilby?
The 2021 Census counted 644 people in Wilby’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Wilby?
The median age was 56.2 at the 2021 Census. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 36% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wilby?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 77% across Northamptonshire’s towns. 8.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wilby?
40% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Wilby good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wilby’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.