Photo: Malcolm Neal · CC BY-SA 2.0Nottingham is younger than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 30.9
The figure for married adults and civil partners is 30% in Nottingham and 44% across England’s towns. Census day 2021: 299,786 residents and 115,104 households here. Here, 8.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. 16% of households live in a detached house, a lower share than in 82% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Nottingham’s people
A student city
The 2021 Census counted 58,484 full-time students aged 16 and over, 24% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 24% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Nottingham’s residents are under 30.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 24% are 15 to 24 and 11% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More born abroad than anywhere else in Nottinghamshire
25% of residents were born outside the UK, against 13% across Nottinghamshire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (9.4%) and in EU countries (8.4%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
45% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 97% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (8.8%), Pakistani (7.2%) and Mixed or multiple (6.1%). 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.
Nottingham grew +9% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 58% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Nottingham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 281,200 people in 2011; 307,200 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2021 to mid-2022, the population rose by 6,410, the most of any year. Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+12%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (+8%).
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns: 24%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 20–24, with 14% of residents, 2.3 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over: just over a tenth of the total.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Nottingham, 30.9. 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.
Full-time students: 24%, a higher share than 99% 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 Nottingham’s other adults differ from England’s: 28% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%. Locally, 17% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A higher share of one-person households than 81% of UK towns, at 34%
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 share of households with dependent children is 28%, against 29% across England’s towns. Each household has 2.4 people on average. One-person households make up 30% across England’s towns.
38% of households have no car or van, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Terraced houses are home to just over a quarter of households, against 24% across England’s towns. Add to that, in one household in 3 there is no car or van, the highest share in Nottinghamshire.
25% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 96% of UK towns don’t reach
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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (9.4%) and in EU countries (8.4%). Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 85% here, fewer than in 96% of UK towns. Since 2017: 29% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 97% of UK towns, at 56%
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: 56% of Nottingham · Nottinghamshire’s towns 79% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 37% across England’s towns, 41% of residents said they have no religion here. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in 98% of UK towns. To put it in context, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. 13% of residents are Muslim.
56% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 99% 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
Some 6,962 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Measured more widely, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Nottingham has fewer unpaid carers than 86% of UK towns, at 7.9%.
A degree-level qualification for 29% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Nottingham’s adults: 29% with a degree-level qualification and 19% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 25%.
From a median age of 22 in Arboretum, Forest & Trent University to 45 in Rise Park & Top Valley West
The city’s 36 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Rise Park & Top Valley West is the oldest area, with 24% aged 65 or over; Arboretum, Forest & Trent University the youngest (median age 22). Students cluster in Arboretum, Forest & Trent University, where 74% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Broxtowe & Cinderhill (50% of households).
2nd lowest median age among 40 UK towns of 210,000 to 405,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tower Hamlets (30.8) and the oldest Bromley (41.2). Nearest to Nottingham in age: Tower Hamlets (30.8), Newham (32.5) and Hackney (32.9).
The towns around Nottingham are all 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nottingham | 299,786 | — | 30.9 | 11% | 28% |
| Arnold | 40,016 | 3 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 28% |
| Nuthall and Watnall | 9,581 | 3.1 mi | 46.9 | 24% | 29% |
| Wilford | 4,849 | 3.4 mi | 43.9 | 22% | 27% |
| Carlton | 53,555 | 3.4 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 27% |
| Bestwood Village | 2,151 | 3.6 mi | 39.2 | 16% | 33% |
| West Bridgford | 36,489 | 3.6 mi | 40.9 | 17% | 30% |
| Gamston (Rushcliffe) | 2,171 | 4.1 mi | 40.4 | 14% | 30% |
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 Nottingham’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. Nottingham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 299,927 people in 2021, against 299,786 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 Nottingham’s residents
What is the population of Nottingham?
The 2021 Census counted 299,786 people in Nottingham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 307,200 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Nottingham?
The median age was 30.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 99% of UK towns. 24% of residents were 15 to 24 and 11% were 65 or over.
Is Nottingham a student city?
Yes: 24% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (58,484 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In Arboretum, Forest & Trent University, 74% of adults were students.
How diverse is Nottingham?
56% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 79% across Nottinghamshire’s towns. 25% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Nottingham?
41% said they had no religion and 34% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 13% were Muslim and 7.5% didn’t answer.
Is Nottingham good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Broxtowe & Cinderhill (50% of households). Schools are on Nottingham’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.