Photo: G-Man at English Wikipedia · Public domainYounger than 84% of UK towns: half of Rugby is under 39.2
Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British; in Rugby, 70%. In 2021, the Census found 78,130 residents locally, living in 32,298 households. Here, 16% of households live in a flat or apartment. Higher than in nearly three quarters of UK towns: 36% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
What the Census says about Rugby’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Rugby at 70,200 in 2011 and 85,000 in 2024, up 21%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 88% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
A +21% change since 2011: faster than 88% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Rugby’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 70,200 people in 2011; 85,000 in 2024.
Mid-2023 to mid-2024 brought the biggest yearly rise, 2,610 people. By age, the 30 to 44 group changed most (+35%) and the 16 to 29 group least (+5%).
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 83% of UK towns: 17%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 30–34: 8% of residents. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. At 11%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is higher than in 75% of UK towns. In Bulkington, the oldest of Warwickshire’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Rugby, 39.2. 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.
A higher share of full-time students than 81% of UK towns, at 5.8%
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%.
With residents who moved in within the year at 12%, Rugby is ahead of 89% of UK towns on that count. As a yardstick, 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.
Bigger households than 74% of UK towns: 2.4 people each on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Warwickshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Rugby, 30%. Here, 3.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. One-person households are rarer here than in just over three fifths of UK towns.
Fewer households in detached houses than 64% of UK towns: 24%
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
17% of households have no car or van; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. Measured more widely, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
22% born outside the UK, more than in 95% of UK towns
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 share of residents whose main language is English is 85%, against 90% across England’s towns. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. The largest groups were born in EU countries (13%) and in the Middle East and Asia (4.6%).
Residents with no religion make up 36% in Rugby, less than in 78% 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: 70% of Rugby · Warwickshire’s towns 81% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
2.2% of residents are Muslim. Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 49%, against 46% across England’s towns.
Rugby sits below 85% of UK towns for unpaid carers (8%)
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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 1,622 people. As a yardstick, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. On married adults and civil partners, Rugby sits lower than 64% of UK towns: 46%.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 33% 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 Rugby, 17%, while 33% hold one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 32 in Houlton, Clifton & Brownsover North to 48 in Overslade & Bilton
The town’s 10 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Overslade & Bilton is the oldest area, with 28% aged 65 or over; Houlton, Clifton & Brownsover North the youngest (median age 32). Families with children are most common in Houlton, Clifton & Brownsover North (45% of households).
87 UK towns of 55,000 to 105,000 people: this is the 33rd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 27.5 in Canterbury to 50.2 in Weymouth. Nearest to Rugby in age: Farnborough (38.8), Doncaster (38.9), Woking (39.2) and Scunthorpe (39.5).
4 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Rugby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby | 78,130 | — | 39.2 | 17% | 30% |
| Clifton upon Dunsmore | 1,216 | 1.4 mi | 50.3 | 27% | 22% |
| Long Lawford | 4,369 | 2.1 mi | 35.3 | 13% | 41% |
| Cawston | 6,475 | 2.5 mi | 34.9 | 9.2% | 49% |
| Dunchurch | 2,603 | 2.8 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 29% |
| Onley | 1,667 | 3.2 mi | 37.9 | 9.7% | 26% |
| Kilsby | 1,341 | 4.1 mi | 52.2 | 32% | 23% |
| Crick | 2,245 | 5.2 mi | 43.1 | 18% | 35% |
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.
- “Warwickshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Warwickshire (or England), summed the same way as Rugby’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. Rugby’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 78,483 people in 2021, against 78,130 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 Rugby’s residents
What is the population of Rugby?
The 2021 Census counted 78,130 people in Rugby’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 85,000 people in mid-2024, 21% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Rugby?
The median age was 39.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 84% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rugby?
70% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 81% across Warwickshire’s towns. 22% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Rugby?
36% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.2% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Rugby good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Houlton, Clifton & Brownsover North (45% of households). Schools are on Rugby’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.