Photo: Richard Harvey · CC BY-SA 2.0 ukHolmfirth: 51% of residents said they have no religion, above 95% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, 24% of households live in a terraced house; in Holmfirth, 35%. In Holmfirth, 1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Half of the town’s residents are over 46.8, older than in two thirds of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 4,982, in 2,162 households.
What the Census says about Holmfirth’s people
More with no religion than most
51% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 42% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
10% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 65% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here 21% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure across England’s towns is 18%. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Holmfirth, 46.8. 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.
More students than 86% of UK towns: 6.2% of adults in Holmfirth
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Holmfirth, 44% and 18%. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 9.8%. For comparison, 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.
Holmfirth ranks below 62% of UK towns on one-person households: 29%
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.
Each household has 2.3 people on average. The figure for households with dependent children is 28% in Holmfirth and 29% across England’s towns.
Holmfirth ranks below 69% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 12%
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
Households in flats make up 8.9%, against 23% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%. On the census count, 32% of households live in a detached house.
In Holmfirth, 3.8% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 80% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.6%), then in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.7%). Holmfirth has more residents whose main language is English than 84% of UK towns, at 99%. Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Born abroad and arrived since 2017: a fifth of that group, against 21% across England’s towns.
Holmfirth sits below 89% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (42%)
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: 95% of Holmfirth · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British tops 71% of UK towns: 95%. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and African (0.3%).
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 64% of UK towns: 50%
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
For 89 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. At 8.9%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in 64% of UK towns. The wider picture: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Where nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, Holmfirth has 31%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 45% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 45% of its adults qualified to degree level, Holmfirth compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 12% hold no qualification (18%). A levels are the highest qualification of 16%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
Of 810 UK towns its size (3,000 to 7,000 people), the 382nd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Holmfirth in age: Neyland (46.7), Blackrod (46.8), Tutbury (46.8) and Market Deeping (46.8).
Holmfirth is younger than 5 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holmfirth | 4,982 | — | 46.8 | 21% | 28% |
| Upperthong | 1,094 | 0.7 mi | 50.6 | 25% | 26% |
| Holmbridge | 1,219 | 1.3 mi | 48.4 | 21% | 24% |
| Scholes (near Hade Edge) | 1,888 | 1.3 mi | 49.5 | 25% | 26% |
| Honley | 14,399 | 2 mi | 47.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Meltham | 8,325 | 3 mi | 45.2 | 23% | 28% |
| Netherton (Kirklees) | 3,151 | 3.3 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 23% |
| Shepley | 2,515 | 3.5 mi | 46.4 | 25% | 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.
- “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 Holmfirth’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 Holmfirth’s residents
What is the population of Holmfirth?
The 2021 Census counted 4,982 people in Holmfirth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Holmfirth?
The median age was 46.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 67% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Holmfirth?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 3.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Holmfirth?
51% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Holmfirth good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Holmfirth’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.