Photo: John Sutton · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 36.1: Clifton is younger than 94% of UK towns
With households in detached houses at 7.8%, Clifton is behind 97% of UK towns on that count. Census figures put households without a car or van at 35% in the town. Lower than in 85% of UK towns: 80% of residents describe themselves as White British. At the 2021 Census Clifton was home to 22,936 people in 9,222 households.
What the Census says about Clifton’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 2,452 full-time students aged 16 and over, 13% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 98% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 17% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Clifton’s residents are under 36.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 17% are 15 to 24 and 17% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More with no religion than most
51% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 39% 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.
A +5% change since 2011: slower than 64% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Clifton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 22,300 people in 2011; 23,300 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2011 to mid-2012: 590 people. Split by age, the 30 to 44 changed most (+21%) and the 45 to 64 least (−9%).
In Clifton, 17% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 17%, against 18% across England’s towns. Typically, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Clifton, 36.1. 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.
In Clifton, 13% of adults are full-time students, more than in 98% 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%.
Leave the students aside and Clifton’s other adults differ from England’s: 20% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year: 11% of the total.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A larger share of one-person households than 71% of UK towns: 32%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Nottinghamshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The average household has 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The usual figure: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The census found that 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Clifton. More households with dependent children than in 60% of UK towns: 28%.
Households in terraced houses make up 41% in Clifton, more than in 95% 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 flats: 15% here and 23% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households in terraced houses across England’s towns: 24%.
Clifton ranks above 82% of UK towns on 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
Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%; Clifton has 92%. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (6%) or in the Middle East and Asia (3.5%). Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
51% of residents said they have no religion, a share 95% 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: 80% of Clifton · Nottinghamshire’s towns 79% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (6.1%), Mixed or multiple (4.1%) and African (3.1%). At 39%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in 94% of UK towns. The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
34% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, below 98% 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: 47%, above 97% of UK towns. The census found that 9.7% of residents give unpaid care in Clifton. Set beside that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
19% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Clifton, 19%, and 24% have none, against 18%. 22% have A levels as their highest qualification, many of them still studying for a degree.
From a median age of 32 in Clifton North to 41 in Clifton West
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Clifton West is the oldest area, with 22% aged 65 or over; Clifton North the youngest (median age 32). Families with children are most common in Clifton South (32% of households).
Of 272 UK towns its size (16,000 to 31,000 people), the 13th youngest
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 Bangor (26.4), the youngest, and Brixham (55.6), the oldest. Nearest to Clifton in age: Quedgeley and Hardwicke (35.9), Northfleet (36), Houghton Regis (36.5) and Bradley Stoke (37.3).
Clifton is younger than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | 22,936 | — | 36.1 | 17% | 28% |
| Ruddington | 7,491 | 1.4 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 30% |
| Wilford | 4,849 | 1.5 mi | 43.9 | 22% | 27% |
| Beeston | 52,359 | 2.4 mi | 41.4 | 21% | 24% |
| West Bridgford | 36,489 | 2.7 mi | 40.9 | 17% | 30% |
| Edwalton | 4,762 | 2.7 mi | 38.7 | 17% | 36% |
| Gotham | 1,566 | 2.8 mi | 53.1 | 31% | 19% |
| Tollerton | 1,976 | 3.6 mi | 52.6 | 31% | 28% |
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.
- “Nottinghamshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Nottinghamshire (or England), summed the same way as Clifton’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. Clifton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 22,936 people in 2021, against 22,936 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 Clifton’s residents
What is the population of Clifton?
The 2021 Census counted 22,936 people in Clifton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 23,300 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Clifton?
The median age was 36.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 17% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
Is Clifton a student town?
Yes: 13% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (2,452 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Clifton?
80% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 79% across Nottinghamshire’s towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Clifton?
51% said they had no religion and 39% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.6% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Clifton good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Clifton South (32% of households). Schools are on Clifton’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.