Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Silsden ranks below 88% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 22%
In Silsden the average household is 2.1 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. By contrast, households in terraced houses are more common here than in 92% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 8,392 people lived here, in 3,891 households. On the census count, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Since 2011, Silsden has grown +13%, faster than 70% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Silsden’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,300 people in 2011; 9,300 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+43%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−7%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2024: 280 more people.
Silsden sits above 76% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (26%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The median age in Silsden is 47.6, higher than in 72% of UK towns. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. 55–59 is the most common age band: 7.6% of residents. In Addingham, the oldest of West Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Silsden, 47.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Silsden, 3.6% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 93% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 9.7%, above 69% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
One-person homes: 33% of households in Silsden
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.
Where 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, Silsden has 1.8%. Across England’s towns, one-person households come to 30%.
Only 24% of households live in a detached house in Silsden
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
One in ten households live in a flat or apartment (England’s towns: 23%). Locally, 16% of households have no car or van. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%.
3.4% born outside the UK, fewer than in 86% 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: 99% here and 90% across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Silsden: 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, above 80% 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: 95% of Silsden · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Pakistani (0.4%). As a yardstick, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Just over two in five residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns.
In Silsden, 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 59% 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 194 residents. Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Set against 44% across England’s towns, 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Silsden.
Degree-level qualifications: 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 33% of Silsden’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification (18%).
424 UK towns of 6,000 to 11,000 people: this is the 116th oldest
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 Tidworth (28.4), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Silsden in age: Netley (47.5), Holbury (47.5), Wem (47.6) and Olney (47.6).
Nearby, 4 of 7 towns have older populations than Silsden
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silsden | 8,392 | — | 47.6 | 26% | 22% |
| Steeton | 5,019 | 1.4 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 27% |
| Cross Hills | 4,809 | 2.3 mi | 47.8 | 27% | 27% |
| Sutton-in-Craven | 2,719 | 2.5 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Low Bradley | 1,203 | 2.7 mi | 55.9 | 33% | 21% |
| Addingham | 3,247 | 3 mi | 57.1 | 38% | 19% |
| Keighley | 48,754 | 3.5 mi | 36.1 | 15% | 34% |
| East Morton | 1,227 | 4.5 mi | 50.6 | 22% | 25% |
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 Silsden’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. Silsden’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 8,707 people in 2021, against 8,392 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 Silsden’s residents
What is the population of Silsden?
The 2021 Census counted 8,392 people in Silsden’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 9,300 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Silsden?
The median age was 47.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 72% of UK towns. 8.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Silsden?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Silsden?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Silsden good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Silsden’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. 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.