Photo: Jonathan Clitheroe · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 40.3: Upton is younger than 79% of UK towns
The figure for households in flats is 5% in Upton and 23% across England’s towns. The town had 6,332 residents in 2,672 households at the 2021 Census. One-person households account for 26%. Few places have as many adults who have never married: 36% here, more than in 73% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Upton’s people
Many carers
682 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 92% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
A +11% change since 2011: faster than 65% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Upton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,800 people in 2011; 6,500 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2019: 130 more people.
Only 17% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 84% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 8.1% of residents. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 11% here, more than in 73% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Addingham, the oldest of West Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Upton, 40.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Upton sits below 91% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (6.6%)
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%.
By class, 23% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 36% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Here, 4.9% of adults are full-time students. Across England’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%.
Larger households than 72% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average
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.
30% of households have dependent children; across England’s towns the figure is 29%. Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here.
21% of households live in a terraced house, a share 54% of UK towns don’t reach
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 16% of households have no car or van, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. For Upton, the census puts households in detached houses at 29%.
A smaller share of residents whose main language is English than 71% of UK towns: 96%
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
18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns, against 5.8% in Upton. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (4.6%) or in Africa (0.5%). Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 66% of UK towns, at 43%
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: 93% of Upton · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian; in Upton, 50%. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%. The largest groups after White British are Other White (4.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and African (0.4%).
Upton: 11% of residents give unpaid care, above 92% 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
46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 228. To put it in context, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 20% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
20% of Upton’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 26% have none (18%).
Among 709 UK towns of 4,000 to 9,000 people, the 115th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Upton in age: Wingate (40.3), Rawdon (40.3), Cringleford (40.4) and Faringdon (40.4).
Around Upton, 5 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upton | 6,332 | — | 40.3 | 17% | 30% |
| South Elmsall | 11,187 | 1.7 mi | 41.7 | 20% | 28% |
| South Kirkby | 8,880 | 2.7 mi | 39.5 | 18% | 31% |
| Ackworth Moor Top | 6,275 | 3.3 mi | 40.5 | 18% | 30% |
| Hemsworth | 9,177 | 3.3 mi | 44.6 | 22% | 25% |
| Darrington | 1,194 | 3.9 mi | 54.1 | 32% | 22% |
| Campsall | 1,879 | 4 mi | 47.2 | 23% | 26% |
| Fitzwilliam and Kinsley | 4,993 | 4.2 mi | 36.2 | 16% | 32% |
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 Upton’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. Upton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,249 people in 2021, against 6,332 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 Upton’s residents
What is the population of Upton?
The 2021 Census counted 6,332 people in Upton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,500 people in mid-2024, 11% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Upton?
The median age was 40.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 79% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Upton?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 5.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Upton?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Upton good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Upton’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.