Photo: Jonathan Clitheroe · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 94% of UK towns: half of Grimethorpe is under 36.1
Flats are home to 3.7% of households, against 23% across England’s towns. For Grimethorpe, the census puts households in detached houses at 12%. At 43%, the share of adults who have never married is higher than in 95% of UK towns. This South Yorkshire town is home to 5,065 residents in 2,057 households, by the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Grimethorpe’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Grimethorpe’s residents are under 36.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More with no religion than most
48% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 46% 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).
Only 14% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Young people aged 15 to 24 make up just over one in ten residents, against 12% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. No age band is larger than 30–34: 8.2% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Grimethorpe, 36.1. 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.
Grimethorpe ranks below 81% of UK towns on full-time students: 4.1%
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%.
Where 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, Grimethorpe has 8.3%. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
More households with dependent children than 84% of UK towns: 32%
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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Grimethorpe, 2.4. For comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 3%. One-person households are rarer here than in 60% of UK towns.
Households without a car or van: 26%, a higher share than 89% 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 terraced houses make up 24%, close to the figure across England’s towns. About one household in 4 lives without a car or van.
A lower share of residents whose main language is English than 84% of UK towns, at 94%
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
Nearly one in ten residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns. The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (6.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%).
A larger share of residents with no religion than 89% of UK towns: 48%
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: 91% of Grimethorpe · South Yorkshire’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (6%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and African (0.6%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 46%, fewer than in 71% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, against 91% in Grimethorpe.
Married adults and civil partners: 38%, a lower share than 95% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 214 residents. For married adults and civil partners, the comparison across England’s towns is 44%. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 11%, more than in 88% of UK towns.
Qualified to degree level: 16% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Grimethorpe’s adults: 16% with a degree-level qualification and 35% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people: this is the 34th 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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Grimethorpe in age: Benson (36), Askern (36.1), Bodicote (36.1) and Iwade (36.1).
Grimethorpe 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grimethorpe | 5,065 | — | 36.1 | 14% | 32% |
| Brierley | 2,714 | 1.3 mi | 41.2 | 17% | 30% |
| Cudworth and Shafton | 12,472 | 1.5 mi | 41.1 | 18% | 29% |
| Great Houghton | 2,489 | 2 mi | 45.2 | 21% | 25% |
| South Hiendley | 1,750 | 2.3 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 24% |
| South Kirkby | 8,880 | 2.4 mi | 39.5 | 18% | 31% |
| Hemsworth | 9,177 | 2.5 mi | 44.6 | 22% | 25% |
| Darfield | 7,209 | 2.8 mi | 44.3 | 23% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Grimethorpe’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 Grimethorpe’s residents
What is the population of Grimethorpe?
The 2021 Census counted 5,065 people in Grimethorpe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Grimethorpe?
The median age was 36.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Grimethorpe?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across South Yorkshire’s towns. 8.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Grimethorpe?
48% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.3% didn’t answer.
Is Grimethorpe good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Grimethorpe’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.