Photo: habiloid · CC BY-SA 2.01.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 91% of UK towns
The share of households in terraced houses tops 86% of UK towns: 32%. Across Cleckheaton, 35% of households are one person living alone. Few places have as many residents with no religion: 44% here, more than in 72% of UK towns. This West Yorkshire town had 11,607 residents in 5,347 households at the 2021 Census.
Slower than most: +5% since 2011, behind 63% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Cleckheaton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 11,800 people in 2011; 12,400 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+27%); the 30 to 44 group moved least (−8%). The steepest year was mid-2021 to mid-2022, up 190 people.
Half of Cleckheaton is under 42.6, younger than 65% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.6% of residents. Lower than in 67% of UK towns: 20% of residents are 65 or over. Residents aged 15 to 24: 10% here and 12% across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cleckheaton, 42.6. 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.
A lower share of full-time students than 52% of UK towns, at 4.8%
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%.
By class, 31% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year: 8.7% of the total. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 84% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against West Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Census figures put households with dependent children at 27% in Cleckheaton.
Cleckheaton ranks above 79% of UK towns on households in flats: 18%
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
Against a figure of 21% across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in Cleckheaton comes in at 19%. On the census count, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van.
A smaller share of residents whose main language is English than 63% of UK towns: 97%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.8%). As a reference point, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 5.7% of residents were born outside the UK (England’s towns: 18%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 90%, a lower share than 63% 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: 90% of Cleckheaton · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Muslims make up 2.1% of residents. For comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46% here, fewer than in 71% of UK towns.
Married adults and civil partners make up 42% in Cleckheaton, less than in 84% 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
Adults who have never married make up 37%, against 39% across England’s towns. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. The share of unpaid carers stands at 8.3%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 27% 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 Cleckheaton, 19%, while 27% hold one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 41 in Scholes & Hunsworth to 46 in Hightown & Hartshead Moor
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.
Hightown & Hartshead Moor is the oldest area, with 24% aged 65 or over; Scholes & Hunsworth the youngest (median age 41). Families with children are most common in Scholes & Hunsworth (29% of households).
Among 432 UK towns of 8,000 to 16,000 people, the 133rd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 60.4 in Sidmouth. Nearest to Cleckheaton in age: Church Village (42.5), Brandon (42.6), Conisbrough (42.6) and Newport Pagnell (42.6).
Cleckheaton sits below 5 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleckheaton | 11,607 | — | 42.6 | 20% | 27% |
| Scholes (near Cleckheaton) | 2,896 | 1.2 mi | 44 | 22% | 29% |
| Liversedge | 17,519 | 1.3 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 29% |
| Gomersal and Birkenshaw | 13,948 | 1.7 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 30% |
| Oakenshaw | 1,571 | 1.8 mi | 41 | 17% | 28% |
| Heckmondwike | 13,368 | 2.4 mi | 36.7 | 15% | 34% |
| Brighouse | 33,159 | 3.1 mi | 46.1 | 23% | 26% |
| Drighlington | 5,280 | 3.2 mi | 46 | 22% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “West Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in West Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Cleckheaton’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. Cleckheaton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,792 people in 2021, against 11,607 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 Cleckheaton’s residents
What is the population of Cleckheaton?
The 2021 Census counted 11,607 people in Cleckheaton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,400 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Cleckheaton?
The median age was 42.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 65% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cleckheaton?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 5.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cleckheaton?
44% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.1% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Cleckheaton good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Scholes & Hunsworth (29% of households). Schools are on Cleckheaton’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.