Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Askern is under 36.1, younger than 94% of UK towns
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van in Askern comes in at 29%. At the 2021 Census, 5,439 people lived locally, in 2,341 households. On the census count, 42% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. The town has more households with dependent children than 91% of UK towns, at 34%.
What the Census says about Askern’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Askern’s residents are under 36.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 13% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More with no religion than most
50% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 43% 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.
Askern grew +17% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 80% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Askern’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,000 people in 2011; 5,800 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 220 people. Change by age ran from +27% for the 30 to 44 to +11% for the 0 to 15.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 14% in Askern, less than in 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 7.7% of residents. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are common here: 13%, more than in 94% of UK towns. In Tickhill, the oldest of South Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Askern, 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.
More full-time students than 84% of UK towns: 5.9%
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 8.2% here and 11% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Askern ranks below 64% of UK towns on shared households of unrelated adults: 2.1%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against South Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The figure for one-person households is 31% in Askern and 30% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. A household here holds 2.3 people on average.
Askern sits below 91% of UK towns for households in detached houses (12%)
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
By its share of households in flats (5.7%), Askern is below nearly four fifths of UK towns. The share of households in detached houses across England’s towns is 21%. 33% of households live in a terraced house.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 64% of UK towns: 5%
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. At 97%, the share of residents whose main language is English is lower than in 66% of UK towns. Of residents born abroad, 15% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents with no religion than 94% of UK towns: 50%
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: 93% of Askern · South Yorkshire’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
93% of residents describe themselves as White British (England’s towns: 73%). Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as Christian: 43% here, fewer than in 87% of UK towns. Residents with no religion make up 37% across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (4.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (0.4%).
A smaller share of married adults and civil partners than 96% of UK towns: 37%
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 unpaid carers is 11%, against 8.7% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 215.
18% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
18% of Askern’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 29% have none (18%).
33rd youngest of 516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Askern in age: Dickens Heath (36), Benson (36), Grimethorpe (36.1) and Bodicote (36.1).
Every nearby town is older than Askern
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Askern | 5,439 | — | 36.1 | 14% | 34% |
| Campsall | 1,879 | 1.1 mi | 47.2 | 23% | 26% |
| Norton | 2,304 | 1.6 mi | 48.8 | 24% | 27% |
| Adwick le Street | 18,326 | 3 mi | 40.4 | 18% | 29% |
| Toll Bar | 1,213 | 3.2 mi | 37.5 | 18% | 33% |
| Arksey | 1,578 | 4.1 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 24% |
| Bentley | 12,044 | 4.7 mi | 36.5 | 15% | 29% |
| Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe | 13,090 | 5 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 25% |
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.
- “South Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in South Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Askern’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. Askern’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,364 people in 2021, against 5,439 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 Askern’s residents
What is the population of Askern?
The 2021 Census counted 5,439 people in Askern’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,800 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Askern?
The median age was 36.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 13% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Askern?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across South Yorkshire’s towns. 5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Askern?
50% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Askern good for families?
34% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Askern’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. 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.