Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0A median age of 39.8: Wakefield is younger than 81% of UK towns
Against a figure of 23% across England’s towns, the share of households in flats in Wakefield comes in at 18%. At the 2021 Census Wakefield was home to 97,871 people in 41,454 households. Residents who describe themselves as White British account for 76%. On households without a car or van, Wakefield sits higher than 89% of UK towns: 26%.
What the Census says about Wakefield’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Wakefield at 89,100 in 2011 and 104,700 in 2024, up 17%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 81% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Wakefield grew +17% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 81% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wakefield’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 89,100 people in 2011; 104,700 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2024: 2,120 more people. The 30 to 44 age group moved most (+31%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (+2%).
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 82% of UK towns: 17%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
30–34 is the most common age band: 7.5% of residents. More residents aged 15 to 24 than in 77% of UK towns: 11%. The usual figure: 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+
■ Wakefield, 39.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 5.4%, a higher share than 71% 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%.
In Wakefield, 29% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 30% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Here, 8.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Wakefield: 2.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, above 70% 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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Wakefield, 2.3. One-person households: nearly a third of the total. On households with dependent children, Wakefield sits higher than 65% of UK towns: 29%. Against that, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Wakefield ranks below 69% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 22%
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
Across England’s towns, 24% of households live in a terraced house; in Wakefield, 19%. Add to that, 18% of households live in a flat, more than in 79% of UK towns; 22% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
16% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 88% 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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (7.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (5.3%). Lower than in 93% of UK towns: 89% of residents have English as their main language. By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. A fifth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 78% of UK towns: 45%
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: 76% of Wakefield · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 38% of residents said they have no religion, where the figure across England’s towns is 37%. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%. Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (7.4%), Pakistani (6.6%) and African (2.3%).
A higher share of adults who have never married than 78% of UK towns, at 37%
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
2,590 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Few places have so few unpaid carers: 8.7% here, fewer than in 69% of UK towns. To put it in context, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners: 44%, near enough the figure across England’s towns.
27% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
27% of Wakefield’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 23% have none (18%).
From a median age of 35 in Agbrigg & Belle Isle to 54 in Sandal
The town’s 13 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Sandal is the oldest area, with 33% aged 65 or over; Agbrigg & Belle Isle the youngest (median age 35). Families with children are most common in Lupset (37% of households).
Among 77 UK towns of 69,000 to 132,000 people, the 32nd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Salford (29.8) and the oldest Southport (48.4). Nearest to Wakefield in age: Grimsby (39.7), St Albans (39.7), Barnsley (39.9) and Redditch (39.9).
Wakefield sits below 5 of its 7 closest neighbours on 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | 97,871 | — | 39.8 | 17% | 29% |
| Horbury | 9,868 | 2.6 mi | 46.1 | 22% | 26% |
| Crigglestone and Durkar | 6,672 | 2.9 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 26% |
| Ossett | 21,854 | 2.9 mi | 45 | 23% | 27% |
| Walton | 3,266 | 2.9 mi | 52.9 | 31% | 22% |
| Bottom Boat | 1,191 | 3.1 mi | 39.3 | 17% | 27% |
| Thorpe on the Hill | 1,232 | 3.4 mi | 34.6 | 8.8% | 37% |
| Lofthouse and Robin Hood | 4,187 | 3.5 mi | 44.5 | 19% | 30% |
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 Wakefield’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. Wakefield’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 98,608 people in 2021, against 97,871 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 Wakefield’s residents
What is the population of Wakefield?
The 2021 Census counted 97,871 people in Wakefield’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 104,700 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wakefield?
The median age was 39.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 81% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wakefield?
76% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 16% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wakefield?
38% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 9.8% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Wakefield good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Lupset (37% of households). Schools are on Wakefield’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.