Photo: Barry Hurst · CC BY-SA 2.0Silkstone is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 55
By its share of residents who describe themselves as Christian (62%), Silkstone is above 96% of UK towns. Households in detached houses are more common here than in 94% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 1,682 residents in the village, living in 769 households. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 1.3% locally.
What the Census says about Silkstone’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Silkstone’s residents are under 55 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
190 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.5%, a lower share than 96% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 65 and over at 31% in Silkstone.
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.
Only 5.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Silkstone
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 44% of Silkstone’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 19%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Few places have so few full-time students: 3.9% here, fewer than in 87% of UK towns. The wider picture: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Households with dependent children make up 20% in Silkstone, less than in 94% of UK towns
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.
A household here has 2.2 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. To put it in context, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Locally, 27% of households are one person living alone.
Fewer flats than 99% of UK towns: 1.1% of households
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
Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%; Silkstone has 10%. On the census count, 18% of households live in a terraced house. Households in flats: 23% across England’s towns, for comparison.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 93% of UK towns, at 99%
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 figure for residents born outside the UK is 3.8% in Silkstone and 18% across England’s towns. Set beside that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%).
Silkstone sits below 88% of UK towns for residents with no religion (33%)
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: 96% of Silkstone · South Yorkshire’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (1.6%), Mixed or multiple (0.6%) and Indian (0.4%). Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. At 96%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is higher than in 88% of UK towns.
Above 95% of UK towns: 12% of residents give unpaid care
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
62 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. As a reference point, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Silkstone has fewer adults who have never married than 94% of UK towns, at 25%. In Silkstone, 56% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 40% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Silkstone, 17%, while 40% hold one at degree level (34%).
The towns around Silkstone are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silkstone | 1,682 | — | 55 | 31% | 20% |
| Silkstone Common | 1,278 | 0.9 mi | 52.3 | 28% | 23% |
| Hoylandswaine | 1,038 | 1.8 mi | 50.9 | 26% | 28% |
| Dodworth | 5,981 | 2 mi | 47.4 | 23% | 25% |
| Barugh Green and Redbrook | 7,545 | 2.4 mi | 46.2 | 22% | 26% |
| Oxspring | 1,196 | 2.4 mi | 47.6 | 23% | 29% |
| Thurgoland | 1,239 | 2.8 mi | 49 | 26% | 26% |
| Penistone | 8,541 | 3 mi | 43.6 | 21% | 30% |
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 Silkstone’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 Silkstone’s residents
What is the population of Silkstone?
The 2021 Census counted 1,682 people in Silkstone’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Silkstone?
The median age was 55 at the 2021 Census. 7.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Silkstone?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across South Yorkshire’s towns. 3.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Silkstone?
33% said they had no religion and 62% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 4.2% didn’t answer.
Is Silkstone good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Silkstone’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.