Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0Pontefract sits below 84% of UK towns for shared households of unrelated adults (1.7%)
Half of Pontefract’s residents are under 41.2, younger than in 74% of UK towns. This West Yorkshire town counted 32,982 residents and 14,347 households at the 2021 Census. The census found that 15% of households live in a terraced house locally. By its share of households without a car or van (22%), Pontefract is above just over four fifths of UK towns.
A +16% change since 2011: faster than 78% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Pontefract’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 29,300 people in 2011; 34,200 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 30 to 44 changed most (+25%) and 16 to 29 least (+7%). The steepest year was mid-2017 to mid-2018, up 670 people.
Pontefract ranks below 71% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 19%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 7.4% of residents. To put it in context, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Compared with 12% across England’s towns, 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24 here.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Pontefract, 41.2. 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.
4.3% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 74% of UK towns
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%.
By class, 28% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 32% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). At 7.6%, the share of residents who moved in within the year is lower than in 74% of UK towns. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
In Pontefract, 28% of households have dependent children, more than in 62% 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.
Households in Pontefract hold 2.3 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). For households with dependent children, the comparison across England’s towns is 29%. Here, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Only 24% of households in Pontefract live in a detached house
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 in flats make up 12%, against 23% across England’s towns. The usual figure: just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents whose main language is English than 65% of UK towns: 97%
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
17% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%. On the census count, 5.5% of residents were born outside the UK.
Pontefract: 52% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 64% 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: 93% of Pontefract · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 93% of residents describe themselves as White British, where the figure across England’s towns is 73%. As a reference point, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (3.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and African (0.5%).
Pontefract sits above 71% of UK towns for adults who have never married (36%)
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
973 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are scarce here: 45%, fewer than in 71% of UK towns. The wider picture: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers are about as common here as across England’s towns: 9.5%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Pontefract, 23%, while 25% hold one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 39 in Pontefract South East to 49 in Pontefract South West
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Pontefract South West is the oldest area, with 27% aged 65 or over; Pontefract South East the youngest (median age 39). Families with children are most common in Pontefract South East (32% of households).
74th lowest median age among 212 UK towns of 23,000 to 45,000
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 Hatfield (30.3), the youngest, and Rustington (56.2), the oldest. Nearest to Pontefract in age: Chesham (41.1), Thatcham (41.1), Stanford-le-Hope (41.2) and Wrexham (41.2).
2 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Pontefract
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontefract | 32,982 | — | 41.2 | 19% | 28% |
| Darrington | 1,194 | 1.9 mi | 54.1 | 32% | 22% |
| Holmfield | 4,150 | 2.1 mi | 39.9 | 18% | 27% |
| Featherstone | 11,657 | 2.3 mi | 39.9 | 19% | 27% |
| Castleford | 45,363 | 2.5 mi | 38.7 | 16% | 29% |
| Knottingley | 9,516 | 2.6 mi | 38.7 | 18% | 28% |
| Byram | 1,436 | 2.9 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 23% |
| Ackworth Moor Top | 6,275 | 3.7 mi | 40.5 | 18% | 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 Pontefract’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. Pontefract’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 32,982 people in 2021, against 32,982 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 Pontefract’s residents
What is the population of Pontefract?
The 2021 Census counted 32,982 people in Pontefract’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 34,200 people in mid-2024, 16% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Pontefract?
The median age was 41.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 74% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Pontefract?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 5.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pontefract?
42% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Pontefract good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Pontefract South East (32% of households). Schools are on Pontefract’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.