Photo: Stephen Armstrong · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 41% in Pudsey, less than in 92% of UK towns
With a median age of 40.5, Pudsey is younger than 78% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 34,853 residents in 15,140 households. Across Pudsey, 31% of households live in a terraced house. Detached houses are home to 15% of households, against 21% across England’s towns.
A +11% change since 2011: Pudsey grew faster than 64% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Pudsey’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 33,500 people in 2011; 37,200 in 2024.
Mid-2012 to mid-2013 brought the biggest yearly rise, 680 people. Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+25%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (+5%).
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 55% of UK towns: 9.9%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Nothing unusual on residents aged 65 and over: 18%, close to the figure across England’s towns. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The largest age band is 30–34: 7.9% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Pudsey, 40.5. 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.
5.3% of adults are full-time students, more than in 69% 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, 38% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 22% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Locally, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
32% of households are one person living alone, more than in 69% 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, the share of households with dependent children is 29%; Pudsey has 28%. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Here, 2.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 73% of UK towns, at 20%
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
15% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. What’s more, every 5th household or so has no car or van.
In Pudsey, 96% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 74% 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
8.2% of residents were born outside the UK, against 14% across West Yorkshire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 90% of residents have English as their main language. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (4.5%) and in EU countries (2.2%).
83% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 82% 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: 83% of Pudsey · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Pakistani (4.8%), Indian (4.1%) and Other White (2.6%). Residents who describe themselves as White British: 73% across England’s towns, for comparison. 43% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 65% of UK towns.
More adults who have never married than 72% of UK towns: 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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 807. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. Fewer married adults and civil partners than in nearly two thirds of UK towns: 46%. Nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care, about the same as across England’s towns.
35% of adults have qualifications at degree level
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 Pudsey, 35%, and 17% have none, against 18%.
From a median age of 37 in New Pudsey to 42 in Pudsey South East
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Pudsey South East is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; New Pudsey the youngest (median age 37). Families with children are most common in New Pudsey (33% of households).
62nd youngest of 203 UK towns of 24,000 to 47,000 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 Hatfield (30.3), the youngest, and Rustington (56.2), the oldest. Nearest to Pudsey in age: Merthyr Tydfil (40.3), Cheshunt (40.4), Hertford (40.5) and Darwen (40.6).
Older than Pudsey: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pudsey | 34,853 | — | 40.5 | 18% | 28% |
| Calverley | 3,988 | 2 mi | 42.1 | 19% | 33% |
| Drighlington | 5,280 | 3.2 mi | 46 | 22% | 26% |
| Gildersome | 6,278 | 3.2 mi | 44.8 | 22% | 26% |
| Rawdon | 6,738 | 3.6 mi | 40.3 | 19% | 34% |
| Bradford | 333,968 | 3.7 mi | 33 | 12% | 39% |
| Gomersal and Birkenshaw | 13,948 | 4 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 30% |
| Oakenshaw | 1,571 | 4.6 mi | 41 | 17% | 28% |
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 Pudsey’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. Pudsey’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 36,932 people in 2021, against 34,853 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 Pudsey’s residents
What is the population of Pudsey?
The 2021 Census counted 34,853 people in Pudsey’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 37,200 people in mid-2024, 11% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Pudsey?
The median age was 40.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 78% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Pudsey?
83% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 8.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pudsey?
43% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 5.9% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Pudsey good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in New Pudsey (33% of households). Schools are on Pudsey’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.