Photo: Tim Green aka atouch · CC BY 2.0Below 99% of UK towns: 0.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home
The figure for residents with no religion is 25% in Scarcroft and 37% across England’s towns. Its 641 households held 1,634 residents at the 2021 Census. Households without a car or van: 6.3% of the total. Compared with other places, households with dependent children are common here: 34%, more than in 92% of UK towns.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.2%, a lower share than 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. For comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 22%. Half of Scarcroft’s residents are over 47.3, older than in 71% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Scarcroft sits below 93% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (6.5%)
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: 5.3%, above 69% of UK towns. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A lower share of one-person households than 99% of UK towns, at 18%
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 2.6 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. The share of one-person households across England’s towns is 30%.
Households in detached houses make up 74% in Scarcroft, more than in 99% 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
Here 7.8% of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. Locally, 3.6% of households live in a terraced house. Across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 21%.
In Scarcroft, 12% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 80% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in the Middle East and Asia (5.8%), then in EU countries (2.8%). The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. At 96%, the share of residents whose main language is English is lower than in 75% of UK towns. Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 8.7% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns.
A lower White British share than 87% of UK towns: 77% of residents
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: 77% of Scarcroft · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Indian (8.1%), Other White (4.2%) and Pakistani (3.7%). Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 50% in Scarcroft.
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 99% of UK towns, at 69%
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 make up 8.5%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Adults who have never married: 19% of the total.
Degree-level qualifications reach 53% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 53% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 9.1% hold no qualification (18%).
Every nearby town is older than Scarcroft
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarcroft | 1,634 | — | 47.3 | 22% | 34% |
| Thorner | 1,397 | 1.2 mi | 50 | 27% | 25% |
| Bardsey | 1,819 | 1.4 mi | 50.1 | 28% | 27% |
| Shadwell | 1,452 | 1.7 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 29% |
| East Keswick | 1,145 | 1.8 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 28% |
| Collingham | 2,362 | 2.7 mi | 50 | 28% | 28% |
| Scholes (Leeds) | 2,270 | 3 mi | 51.6 | 30% | 25% |
| Barwick in Elmet | 2,180 | 3.5 mi | 54.2 | 32% | 21% |
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 Scarcroft’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Scarcroft’s residents
What is the population of Scarcroft?
The 2021 Census counted 1,634 people in Scarcroft’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Scarcroft?
The median age was 47.3 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Scarcroft?
77% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 12% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Scarcroft?
25% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 5.6% were Muslim and 4% didn’t answer.
Is Scarcroft good for families?
34% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Scarcroft’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). 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.