Photo: Velella · CC BY-SA 3.0A smaller share of shared households of unrelated adults than 91% of UK towns: 1.5%
Nearly a third of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. Honley counted 14,399 residents and 6,291 households at the 2021 Census. Here, 52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. The median age locally is 47.6, higher than in 72% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over: 24%, a higher share than 68% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 8% of residents. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. In Addingham, the oldest of West Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Honley, 47.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
More full-time students than 79% of UK towns: 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%.
7.7% of residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. 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.
Only 29% of households in Honley are one person living alone
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.
27% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. For one-person households, the comparison across England’s towns is 30%. Average household size: 2.3 people.
6.5% of households live in a flat or apartment, below 75% of UK towns
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
33% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Households in flats: 23% across England’s towns, for comparison. In one household in 7 there is no car or van.
Fewer residents born abroad than 84% of UK towns: 3.5%
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
Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 8.7% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 99% of residents have English as their main language.
A larger share of residents with no religion than 69% of UK towns: 44%
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: 94% of Honley · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
49% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Locally, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British. By way of comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 76% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 374 residents. For adults who have never married, the comparison across England’s towns is 39%. Unpaid carers are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 9.6%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 39% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
13% of Honley’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 39% have one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 47 in Holmfirth, New Mill & Hepworth to 49 in Upperthong & Holmbridge
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.
Upperthong & Holmbridge is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Holmfirth, New Mill & Hepworth the youngest (median age 47). Families with children are most common in Holmfirth, New Mill & Hepworth (28% of households).
360 UK towns of 10,000 to 19,000 people: this is the 79th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Honley in age: Sandbach (47.3), Whitwick (47.4), Cheadle (47.6) and Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay (47.7).
Older than Honley: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honley | 14,399 | — | 47.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Netherton (Kirklees) | 3,151 | 2 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 23% |
| Holmfirth | 4,982 | 2 mi | 46.8 | 21% | 28% |
| Upperthong | 1,094 | 2.2 mi | 50.6 | 25% | 26% |
| Scholes (near Hade Edge) | 1,888 | 2.3 mi | 49.5 | 25% | 26% |
| Shepley | 2,515 | 2.7 mi | 46.4 | 25% | 29% |
| Holmbridge | 1,219 | 3.1 mi | 48.4 | 21% | 24% |
| Shelley | 2,696 | 3.1 mi | 46 | 20% | 33% |
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 Honley’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 Honley’s residents
What is the population of Honley?
The 2021 Census counted 14,399 people in Honley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Honley?
The median age was 47.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 72% of UK towns. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Honley?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 3.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Honley?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Honley good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Holmfirth, New Mill & Hepworth (28% of households). Schools are on Honley’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) · 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.