Photo: Steve Fareham · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 1.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Ossett
The figure for households without a car or van is 20% in Ossett and 24% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census counted 21,854 residents in 9,786 households. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 95% of the total. This West Yorkshire town has fewer households in detached houses than 66% of UK towns, at 23%.
From 2011 to 2024, 73% of UK towns grew faster than Ossett: +3%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ossett’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 21,900 people in 2011; 22,400 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2012 to mid-2013, 180 people. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+30%) and 30 to 44 least (−8%).
23% of residents are 65 or over, a share 56% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Ossett’s residents are over 45, older than in 54% of UK towns. In Ossett, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ossett, 45. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 81% of UK towns: 7.2% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 31% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 27% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Elsewhere, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. 4.8% of adults are full-time students.
Ossett households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 70% 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.
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Ossett, 27%. In Ossett, nearly a third of households are one person living alone.
Fewer households in flats than 54% of UK towns: 10%
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
On households in terraced houses, 24% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%.
Below 82% of UK towns: 3.7% of residents were born outside the UK
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 whose main language is English: 98%, above just over two thirds of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%).
No religion: 44% of residents, a higher share than 69% 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: 95% of Ossett · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.4%). Residents with no religion make up 37% across England’s towns. 50% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns.
48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, below 52% 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
591 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Across England’s towns, married adults and civil partners come to 44%. Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 9.6%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
20% of Ossett’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 25% have one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 44 in Ossett North to 46 in Ossett South East & Horbury Bridge
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.
Ossett South East & Horbury Bridge is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Ossett North the youngest (median age 44). Families with children are most common in Ossett North (28% of households).
103rd oldest of 302 UK towns of 15,000 to 30,000 people
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 Bangor (26.4), the youngest, and South Hayling (57.2), the oldest. Nearest to Ossett in age: Dorking (44.9), East Ardsley (45), Hoyland (45) and Retford (45).
Ossett and its 7 nearest towns: 4 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ossett | 21,854 | — | 45 | 23% | 27% |
| Horbury | 9,868 | 1.5 mi | 46.1 | 22% | 26% |
| Dewsbury | 63,730 | 2.3 mi | 34.4 | 13% | 38% |
| Middlestown and Overton | 2,409 | 2.4 mi | 49 | 26% | 25% |
| Netherton (Wakefield) | 2,331 | 2.5 mi | 50.6 | 27% | 22% |
| Wakefield | 97,871 | 2.9 mi | 39.8 | 17% | 29% |
| Crigglestone and Durkar | 6,672 | 3.1 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 26% |
| East Ardsley | 15,238 | 3.2 mi | 45 | 19% | 29% |
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 Ossett’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. Ossett’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 22,483 people in 2021, against 21,854 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 Ossett’s residents
What is the population of Ossett?
The 2021 Census counted 21,854 people in Ossett’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 22,400 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ossett?
The median age was 45 at the 2021 Census, older than 54% of UK towns. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ossett?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ossett?
44% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Ossett good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Ossett North (28% of households). Schools are on Ossett’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.