Hopton Congregational Church · Photo: John Slater · CC BY-SA 2.0In Mirfield, 1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 86% of UK towns
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Mirfield comes in at 24%. 52% of residents describe themselves as Christian. The town has fewer households with dependent children than 61% of UK towns, at 26%. At the 2021 Census, 19,614 people lived locally, in 8,696 households.
A change of +3% since 2011 leaves Mirfield behind 71% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Mirfield’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 19,600 people in 2011; 20,200 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+22%) and the 45 to 64 group least (−6%). In one year, mid-2021 to mid-2022, the population rose by 230, the most of any year.
A median age of 46: Mirfield is older than 61% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here 9.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across England’s towns is 12%. The largest age band is 50–54: 7.4% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Mirfield, 46. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 73% of UK towns: 7.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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%.
In Mirfield, 37% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 23% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across Mirfield, 5.1% of adults are full-time students. On average, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 65% 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.
Against a figure of 30% across England’s towns, the share of one-person households in Mirfield comes in at 31%.
Mirfield ranks above 61% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 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
Just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. On the census count, 28% of households live in a detached house.
4.4% of residents were born outside the UK, below 72% 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
Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 13%. The census found that 98% of residents have English as their main language in Mirfield. The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 64% of UK towns: 39%
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 Mirfield · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
2.9% of residents said their religion is Muslim. On average, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, Mirfield has 91%.
Adults who have never married make up 31% in Mirfield, less than in 58% 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
49% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. In Mirfield, 9.4% of residents give unpaid care. Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 32%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Mirfield, 32%, and 17% have none, against 18%.
From a median age of 43 in Battyeford to 48 in Northorpe & Crossley
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.
Northorpe & Crossley is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Battyeford the youngest (median age 43). Families with children are most common in Battyeford (29% of households).
Among 295 UK towns of 14,000 to 26,000 people, the 89th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest South Hayling (57.2). Nearest to Mirfield in age: Haydock (45.9), Marlow (45.9), Louth (46) and March (46).
3 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Mirfield
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mirfield | 19,614 | — | 46 | 24% | 26% |
| Kirkheaton | 3,492 | 2 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 25% |
| Liversedge | 17,519 | 2.1 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 29% |
| Heckmondwike | 13,368 | 2.4 mi | 36.7 | 15% | 34% |
| Dewsbury | 63,730 | 2.6 mi | 34.4 | 13% | 38% |
| Grange Moor | 1,118 | 3.1 mi | 46.8 | 19% | 30% |
| Cleckheaton | 11,607 | 3.2 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 27% |
| Lepton | 4,950 | 3.3 mi | 47.2 | 23% | 27% |
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 Mirfield’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. Mirfield’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 19,774 people in 2021, against 19,614 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 Mirfield’s residents
What is the population of Mirfield?
The 2021 Census counted 19,614 people in Mirfield’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 20,200 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Mirfield?
The median age was 46 at the 2021 Census, older than 61% of UK towns. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Mirfield?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Mirfield?
39% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.9% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Mirfield good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Battyeford (29% of households). Schools are on Mirfield’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.