Cliffe House · Photo: Dave Pickersgill · CC BY-SA 2.0Few flats: only 0.7% of households in Shepley live in one
In Shepley, just over a quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, beside 39% across England’s towns. At 96%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is higher than in 84% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 2,515 residents and 1,051 households locally. The census found that 25% of households are one person living alone locally.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 71% of UK towns, at 25%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 45–49: 7.3% of residents. Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 65% 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+
■ Shepley, 46.4. 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.
More full-time students than 84% of UK towns: 6%
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%.
In Shepley, 44% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 16% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%. Here, 8.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A smaller share of shared households of unrelated adults than 79% of UK towns: 1.8%
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.
The typical household size is 2.4 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults make up 4.3% across England’s towns. Households with dependent children: 29% of the total.
Fewer car-free households than 83% of UK towns: 9.9%
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
Just over a quarter of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. Households in detached houses: 36% of the total.
Only 2.5% of residents were born outside the UK in Shepley
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
99% of residents have English as their main language (England’s towns: 90%). Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%.
Shepley: 43% of residents said they have no religion, above 61% 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: 96% of Shepley · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 46% across England’s towns, 51% of residents describe themselves as Christian here. Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (1.6%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.4%).
56% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 91% of UK towns
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 59 residents. At 9.9%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in 64% of UK towns. The benchmark for married adults and civil partners across England’s towns: 44%.
Qualified to degree level: 42% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
42% of Shepley’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 13% have none (18%).
219 UK towns of 2,500 to 3,000 people: this is the 104th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 20.6 in Keele to 60.8 in St Mary's Bay. Nearest to Shepley in age: Asfordby (46.3), Hadston (46.4), Tuxford (46.4) and Willington (46.5).
Older than Shepley: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shepley | 2,515 | — | 46.4 | 25% | 29% |
| Shelley | 2,696 | 1 mi | 46 | 20% | 33% |
| Kirkburton | 4,033 | 2.1 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 28% |
| Denby Dale | 2,734 | 2.4 mi | 47.4 | 24% | 27% |
| Scholes (near Hade Edge) | 1,888 | 2.6 mi | 49.5 | 25% | 26% |
| Skelmanthorpe | 4,458 | 2.6 mi | 47.5 | 26% | 25% |
| Honley | 14,399 | 2.7 mi | 47.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Lepton | 4,950 | 3.4 mi | 47.2 | 23% | 27% |
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 Shepley’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 Shepley’s residents
What is the population of Shepley?
The 2021 Census counted 2,515 people in Shepley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shepley?
The median age was 46.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 64% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shepley?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 2.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shepley?
43% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Shepley good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shepley’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.