Photo: Chemical Engineer · Public domain6.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 99% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 21%; Shadwell has 67%. There were 605 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 1,452 residents. On the census count, 61% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Lower than in 95% of UK towns: 29% of residents said they have no religion.
Half of Shadwell is over 47.7, older than 73% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Higher than in two thirds of UK towns: 24% of residents are 65 or over.
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. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Shadwell sits below 82% of UK towns for full-time students (4.1%)
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 58% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 9.1% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Few places have so few residents who moved in within the year: 7.7% here, fewer than in 71% of UK towns. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.5% in Shadwell, less than in 92% 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 with dependent children are about as common here as across England’s towns: 29%. For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across England’s towns is 4.3%. On the census count, 27% of households are one person living alone.
5.8% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 98% 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
Compared with 23% across England’s towns, 4.8% of households live in a flat or apartment here. About one household in 17 lives without a car or van. On households in terraced houses, Shadwell sits lower than 83% of UK towns: 12%.
In Shadwell, 8.1% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 64% 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 whose main language is English: 97% here and 90% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Shadwell ranks above 80% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 55%
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: 86% of Shadwell · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%; Shadwell has 86%. For residents who describe themselves as Christian, the comparison across England’s towns is 46%. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (4%), Indian (3.5%) and Mixed or multiple (2%).
Shadwell sits below 98% of UK towns for adults who have never married (22%)
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
At 50 hours or more a week, 26 people give unpaid care. As a yardstick, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 52%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
52% of Shadwell’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 8.8% have none (18%).
Shadwell is younger than 5 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadwell | 1,452 | — | 47.7 | 24% | 29% |
| Scarcroft | 1,634 | 1.7 mi | 47.3 | 22% | 34% |
| Thorner | 1,397 | 2.2 mi | 50 | 27% | 25% |
| Scholes (Leeds) | 2,270 | 2.6 mi | 51.6 | 30% | 25% |
| Bardsey | 1,819 | 3 mi | 50.1 | 28% | 27% |
| East Keswick | 1,145 | 3.2 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 28% |
| Barwick in Elmet | 2,180 | 3.6 mi | 54.2 | 32% | 21% |
| Leeds | 536,262 | 4.2 mi | 33.4 | 13% | 28% |
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 Shadwell’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 Shadwell’s residents
What is the population of Shadwell?
The 2021 Census counted 1,452 people in Shadwell’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shadwell?
The median age was 47.7 at the 2021 Census. 6.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shadwell?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 8.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shadwell?
29% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.4% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Shadwell good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shadwell’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.