Photo: Chris Morgan · CC BY-SA 2.0Upper Denby is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 55
Households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 668 residents and 296 households in Upper Denby. Across Upper Denby, 19% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. 20% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns: 6.5%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 60–64: just over one in ten residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. The census found that 29% of residents are 65 or over in Upper Denby. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
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.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 99% of UK towns, at 2.4%
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 43% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 15% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year: 11% across England’s towns, for comparison. The census found that 4% of adults are full-time students in Upper Denby.
Upper Denby sits below 71% of UK towns for one-person households (27%)
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.
In Upper Denby, 2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, beside 4.3% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Each household has 2.2 people on average.
Fewer car-free households than 93% of UK towns: 7.7%
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
Where just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, Upper Denby has 49%. What’s more, a third of households live in a terraced house, more than in 88% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, households without a car or van come to 24%.
Only 1.4% of Upper Denby’s residents were born outside the UK
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (0.5%) and in Africa (0.5%). More residents whose main language is English than in 99% of UK towns: 100%. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 98% of UK towns, at 97%
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: 97% of Upper Denby · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 59% here and 46% across England’s towns. Meanwhile, at 34%, the share of residents with no religion is lower than in 85% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
In Upper Denby, 61% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 99% 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 17. Fewer unpaid carers than in four fifths of UK towns: 8.2%. Across the comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 40%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Upper Denby counts 40% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 14% have no qualification (18%).
Every neighbour of Upper Denby has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Denby | 668 | — | 55 | 29% | 20% |
| Denby Dale | 2,734 | 0.8 mi | 47.4 | 24% | 27% |
| Skelmanthorpe | 4,458 | 2.2 mi | 47.5 | 26% | 25% |
| Thurlstone | 1,003 | 2.3 mi | 47.9 | 20% | 23% |
| Millhouse Green | 1,249 | 2.5 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 32% |
| Hoylandswaine | 1,038 | 2.5 mi | 50.9 | 26% | 28% |
| Shepley | 2,515 | 2.7 mi | 46.4 | 25% | 29% |
| Clayton West and Scissett | 4,382 | 3 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 30% |
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 Upper Denby’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 Upper Denby’s residents
What is the population of Upper Denby?
The 2021 Census counted 668 people in Upper Denby’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Upper Denby?
The median age was 55 at the 2021 Census. 6.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Upper Denby?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 1.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Upper Denby?
34% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Upper Denby good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Upper Denby’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.