Photo: Kevin Waterhouse · CC BY-SA 2.0Shared households of unrelated adults make up 0.6% in Emley, less than in 99% of UK towns
Married people and civil partners make up 56% of adults, against 44% across England’s towns. Households with dependent children: 22% of the total. On households in detached houses, Emley sits higher than 87% of UK towns: 47%. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 1,433, in 651 households.
What the Census says about Emley’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Emley’s residents are under 50.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Half of Emley is over 50.6, older than 88% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
29% of residents are 65 or over; across England’s towns the figure is 18%. Across Emley, 8.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
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.
6.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 95% of UK towns
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, just over two in five adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 19% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year: 11% across England’s towns, for comparison. Here, 4.2% of adults are full-time students.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 78% 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.
Locally, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Few flats: only 4.9% of households in Emley live in one
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
With households without a car or van at 13%, Emley is behind 66% of UK towns on that count. Households in terraced houses account for 20%. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%.
In Emley, 1.7% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 99% 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 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents whose main language is English make up 100%, against 90% across England’s towns. On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 96%, a higher share than 90% 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 Emley · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, Emley has 52%. 40% of residents said they have no religion. As a reference point, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Fewer adults who have never married than 91% of UK towns: 26%
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
The share of unpaid carers tops 61% of UK towns: 9.8%. On average, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 37.
Degree-level qualifications reach 38% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 38% of Emley’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 16% have no qualification (18%).
Emley is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emley | 1,433 | — | 50.6 | 29% | 22% |
| Flockton | 1,732 | 1.3 mi | 41.2 | 18% | 31% |
| Clayton West and Scissett | 4,382 | 1.5 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 30% |
| Skelmanthorpe | 4,458 | 1.7 mi | 47.5 | 26% | 25% |
| Grange Moor | 1,118 | 2.3 mi | 46.8 | 19% | 30% |
| Middlestown and Overton | 2,409 | 2.7 mi | 49 | 26% | 25% |
| Netherton (Wakefield) | 2,331 | 2.9 mi | 50.6 | 27% | 22% |
| Denby Dale | 2,734 | 3 mi | 47.4 | 24% | 27% |
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 Emley’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 Emley’s residents
What is the population of Emley?
The 2021 Census counted 1,433 people in Emley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Emley?
The median age was 50.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Emley?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 1.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Emley?
40% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Emley good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Emley’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.