Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0Otley ranks below 85% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 8.5%
By its share of households in terraced houses (31%), Otley is above 84% of UK towns. The town had 14,549 residents and 6,669 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 48 (older than 74% of UK towns). On the census count, 1.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Few places have so few households with dependent children: 25% here, fewer than in just over three quarters of UK towns.
Slower than most: +5% since 2011, behind 63% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Otley’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 13,600 people in 2011; 14,300 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+39%) and the 45 to 64 least (−7%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2017: 230 more people.
Half of Otley is over 48, older than 74% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 50–54: 7.4% of residents. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in just over three quarters of UK towns. In Addingham, the oldest of West Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Otley, 48. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
A smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 81% of UK towns: 7.2%
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%.
Set against 7.9% across England’s towns, 4.5% of adults are full-time students in Otley. Against that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
In Otley, 34% of households are one person living alone, more than in 79% 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.
At 2.2 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Typically, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
In Otley, 18% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 78% 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
Households without a car or van make up 19%, against 24% across England’s towns. For Otley, the census puts households in flats at 15%. On average, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Otley sits below 74% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (4.2%)
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
Set against 90% across England’s towns, 99% of residents have English as their main language in Otley. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%).
44% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 71% 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: 94% of Otley · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (2.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (0.4%). Higher than in 65% of UK towns: 94% of residents describe themselves as White British. The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 37% across England’s towns. Nearly half of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns.
More married adults and civil partners than 58% of UK towns: 49%
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
Compared with 39% across England’s towns, 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%. For 360 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 40%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Otley, 40% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 15% have no qualification at all (18%).
From a median age of 46 in Otley North to 58 in Menwith, Beckwithshaw & Denton Moor
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.
Menwith, Beckwithshaw & Denton Moor is the oldest area, with 38% aged 65 or over; Otley North the youngest (median age 46). Families with children are most common in Otley North (28% of households).
77th highest median age among 384 UK towns of 10,000 to 20,000
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 Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Otley in age: Corfe Mullen (47.8), Monmouth (47.9), Saltash (48) and Huntington (48.2).
Older than Otley: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otley | 14,549 | — | 48 | 26% | 25% |
| Menston | 5,905 | 2.2 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 28% |
| Burley in Wharfedale | 6,806 | 2.3 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 32% |
| Guiseley | 12,462 | 2.6 mi | 44.2 | 22% | 31% |
| Pool-in-Wharfedale | 1,991 | 2.9 mi | 44.5 | 20% | 35% |
| Yeadon | 14,273 | 3.1 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 26% |
| Bramhope | 3,593 | 3.9 mi | 48.7 | 27% | 29% |
| Rawdon | 6,738 | 4.2 mi | 40.3 | 19% | 34% |
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 Otley’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. Otley’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 14,367 people in 2021, against 14,549 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 Otley’s residents
What is the population of Otley?
The 2021 Census counted 14,549 people in Otley’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 14,300 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Otley?
The median age was 48 at the 2021 Census, older than 74% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Otley?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Otley?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Otley good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Otley North (28% of households). Schools are on Otley’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.