Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Morley is under 39.4, younger than 83% of UK towns
Flats are home to 17% of households, against 23% across England’s towns. Higher than in 79% of UK towns: 34% of households are one person living alone. There were 14,898 households in Morley at the 2021 Census, home to 32,562 residents. 31% of households live in a terraced house.
What the Census says about Morley’s people
More with no religion than most
47% 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) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
From 2011 to 2024, Morley outgrew 68% of UK towns: +12%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Morley’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 29,600 people in 2011; 33,300 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+30%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (+6%). Mid-2021 to mid-2022 brought the biggest yearly rise, 490 people.
In Morley, 16% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 85% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Where 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, Morley has 10%. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. No age band is larger than 25–29: nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Morley, 39.4. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Morley sits above 73% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (10%)
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%.
Full-time students make up 4.9% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 82% 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.
Where 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, Morley has 27%. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.6%.
A larger share of households without a car or van than 85% of UK towns: 24%
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
20% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Every 4th household or so has no car or van.
Residents whose main language is English make up 96% in Morley, less than in 75% 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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (3.1%). Residents whose main language is English: 90% across England’s towns, for comparison. Morley has more residents born outside the UK than just over two thirds of UK towns, at 8.8%. Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 19%.
47% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 86% 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: 86% of Morley · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
1.5% of residents said their religion is Muslim. The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in 88% of UK towns. Against a figure of 73% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British in Morley comes in at 86%.
Morley ranks above 91% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 41%
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
Unpaid carers: 8.4%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. The usual figure: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. The census found that just over two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership in Morley.
Degree-level qualifications reach 31% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 31% of its adults qualified to degree level, Morley compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 18% hold no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 37 in Morley East to 43 in Churwell
The town’s 5 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Churwell is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; Morley East the youngest (median age 37). Families with children are most common in Morley North & Gildersome East (30% of households).
208 UK towns of 23,000 to 44,000 people: this is the 41st youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Hatfield (30.3) and the oldest Rustington (56.2). Nearest to Morley in age: Hyde (39.3), Winsford (39.3), Leighton Buzzard (39.4) and Thornaby-on-Tees (39.5).
Median age: 4 of the 7 towns around Morley are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morley | 32,562 | — | 39.4 | 16% | 27% |
| Gildersome | 6,278 | 1.5 mi | 44.8 | 22% | 26% |
| East Ardsley | 15,238 | 2.1 mi | 45 | 19% | 29% |
| Drighlington | 5,280 | 2.6 mi | 46 | 22% | 26% |
| Batley | 44,494 | 2.7 mi | 36.2 | 14% | 34% |
| Thorpe on the Hill | 1,232 | 3.1 mi | 34.6 | 8.8% | 37% |
| Heckmondwike | 13,368 | 3.8 mi | 36.7 | 15% | 34% |
| Gomersal and Birkenshaw | 13,948 | 3.9 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 30% |
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 Morley’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. Morley’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 32,255 people in 2021, against 32,562 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 Morley’s residents
What is the population of Morley?
The 2021 Census counted 32,562 people in Morley’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 33,300 people in mid-2024, 12% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Morley?
The median age was 39.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 83% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Morley?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 8.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Morley?
47% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.5% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Morley good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Morley North & Gildersome East (30% of households). Schools are on Morley’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.