Photo: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0Cheadle: 65% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 98% of UK towns
The share of shared households of unrelated adults is 1.6%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, households with dependent children are scarce here: 24%, fewer than in 78% of UK towns. Cheadle’s 5,125 households held 11,403 residents at the 2021 Census. Across Cheadle, 6.1% of households live in a flat or apartment.
+2% since 2011, a pace below 75% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Cheadle’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 12,200 people in 2011; 12,500 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+27%) and the 30 to 44 least (−10%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2022 to mid-2023: 200 people.
A median age of 47.6: Cheadle is older than 72% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 10%, against 12% across England’s towns. What’s more, 25% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 73% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cheadle, 47.6. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Below 69% of UK towns: 7.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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%.
5.2% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year: 11% across England’s towns, for comparison.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 75% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Staffordshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The share of one-person households is 32%, against 30% across England’s towns.
14% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 75% 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
Detached houses are home to 37% of households, against 21% across England’s towns. The share of households in terraced houses across England’s towns is 24%. On the census count, 18% of households have no car or van.
A lower share of residents born outside the UK than 90% of UK towns, at 3.1%
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
12% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns. Across Cheadle, 99% of residents have English as their main language. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
In Cheadle, 28% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 95% of UK towns
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 Cheadle · Staffordshire’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (1.5%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.4%).
A larger share of unpaid carers than 71% of UK towns: 10%
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 324 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Measured more widely, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; in Cheadle, 49%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 24% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 24% of adults in Cheadle (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 23% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 44 in Cheadle North, Alton & Kingsley to 51 in Cheadle South & Upper Tean
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Cheadle South & Upper Tean is the oldest area, with 28% aged 65 or over; Cheadle North, Alton & Kingsley the youngest (median age 44). Families with children are most common in Cheadle North, Alton & Kingsley (26% of households).
Among 397 UK towns of 8,000 to 15,000 people, the 89th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Cheadle in age: Silsden (47.6), Honley (47.6), Cowes (47.7) and Corfe Mullen (47.8).
Nearby, 3 of 7 towns have older populations than Cheadle
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheadle | 11,403 | — | 47.6 | 25% | 24% |
| Upper Tean | 3,244 | 2.1 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 27% |
| Blythe Bridge and Forsbrook | 6,798 | 3.5 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 24% |
| Werrington | 6,012 | 5.2 mi | 50.9 | 30% | 24% |
| Cheddleton | 4,027 | 6 mi | 49.6 | 26% | 25% |
| Rocester | 1,679 | 6.6 mi | 42.2 | 18% | 28% |
| Uttoxeter | 14,024 | 7.3 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 29% |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 260,560 | 7.7 mi | 38.4 | 17% | 29% |
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.
- “Staffordshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Staffordshire (or England), summed the same way as Cheadle’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. Cheadle’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 12,030 people in 2021, against 11,403 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 Cheadle’s residents
What is the population of Cheadle?
The 2021 Census counted 11,403 people in Cheadle’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,500 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Cheadle?
The median age was 47.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 72% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cheadle?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Staffordshire’s towns. 3.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cheadle?
28% said they had no religion and 65% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Cheadle good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Cheadle North, Alton & Kingsley (26% of households). Schools are on Cheadle’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.