Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of households in terraced houses than 93% of UK towns: 39%
By its share of households in detached houses (16%), Elland is below 83% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 15,788 residents locally, living in 7,004 households. Locally, 46% of residents said they have no religion. Higher than in 72% of UK towns: 36% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Since 2011, Elland has changed by +3%, slower than 71% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Elland’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 16,500 people in 2011; 17,000 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2015 to mid-2016, 240 people. Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+28%) and the 30 to 44 least (−4%).
Younger than 64% of UK towns: half of Elland is under 42.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 50–54: 7.4% of residents. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 11% here, more than in just over four fifths of UK towns. By contrast, by its share of residents aged 65 and over (20%), Elland is below 65% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Elland, 42.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Elland ranks above 79% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.7%
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 nearly a third of Elland’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 27%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. In Elland, 8.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Elland households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 68% of UK towns
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.
30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, against 32% in Elland. At the same time, at 2.1%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is lower than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. Here, 28% of households have dependent children.
More flats than 78% of UK towns: 18% of households in Elland
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
By its share of households without a car or van (23%), Elland is above just over four fifths of UK towns.
Elland sits below 67% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (4.8%)
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%). As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 13% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
Below 77% of UK towns: 45% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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 Elland · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Pakistani (2.8%), Other White (2.5%) and Mixed or multiple (1.6%). Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 46% across England’s towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 91%, against 73% across England’s towns.
Fewer married adults and civil partners than 78% of UK towns: 43%
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
On unpaid carers, 9% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Set beside that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Elland counts 27% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 18% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 41 in Rastrick West to 45 in Greetland & Stainland
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.
Greetland & Stainland is the oldest area, with 22% aged 65 or over; Rastrick West the youngest (median age 41). Families with children are most common in Rastrick West (38% of households).
121st lowest median age among 354 UK towns of 11,000 to 21,000
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 Elland in age: Great Harwood (42.7), Haslingden (42.7), Birstall (42.7) and Rushall and Shelfield (42.7).
Older than Elland: 3 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elland | 15,788 | — | 42.7 | 20% | 28% |
| Holywell Green and Stainland | 2,799 | 1.6 mi | 40.5 | 14% | 32% |
| Outlane | 1,172 | 2.5 mi | 48.6 | 23% | 27% |
| Brighouse | 33,159 | 2.6 mi | 46.1 | 23% | 26% |
| Huddersfield | 141,683 | 3.2 mi | 37.7 | 16% | 30% |
| Halifax | 88,111 | 3.2 mi | 37.9 | 16% | 31% |
| Sowerby Bridge | 4,483 | 3.7 mi | 41.7 | 18% | 30% |
| Shelf and Northowram | 9,191 | 4.3 mi | 48.7 | 24% | 25% |
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.
- “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 Elland’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. Elland’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 16,802 people in 2021, against 15,788 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 Elland’s residents
What is the population of Elland?
The 2021 Census counted 15,788 people in Elland’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 17,000 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Elland?
The median age was 42.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 64% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Elland?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 4.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Elland?
46% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.2% were Muslim and 4.7% didn’t answer.
Is Elland good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Rastrick West (38% of households). Schools are on Elland’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.