Photo: Christine Johnstone · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 94% of UK towns: half of Walton is over 52.9
The share of adults who have never married is 24%, against 39% across England’s towns. Walton counted 3,266 residents and 1,452 households at the 2021 Census. Households with dependent children: 22% of the total. 3.8% of households live in a flat or apartment, a lower share than in 89% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Walton’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Walton’s residents are under 52.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
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.
+2% since 2011: slower than 77% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Walton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,900 people in 2011; 3,000 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+53%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (−22%). No year added more people than mid-2020 to mid-2021: 60.
More residents aged 65 and over than 92% of UK towns: 31%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: 9% of residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Walton, 52.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
3.7% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 92% 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%.
The share of residents who moved in within the year trails 77% of UK towns: 7.4%. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.
Fewer one-person households than 70% of UK towns: 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.
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Walton ranks below 80% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 13%
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
21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, against 34% in Walton. On average, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. Lower than in 63% of UK towns: 13% of households have no car or van.
Walton ranks below 74% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 4.3%
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 born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Walton has more residents whose main language is English than 69% of UK towns, at 98%. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up just over a tenth of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
In Walton, 57% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 86% 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: 94% of Walton · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Pakistani (0.8%). More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 68% of UK towns: 94%. As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Little separates the share of residents with no religion here, 37%, from the figure across England’s towns.
55% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 89% of UK towns don’t reach
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
114 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Across the comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. More unpaid carers than in nearly two thirds of UK towns: 10%.
37% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Walton counts 37% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 17% have no qualification (18%).
53rd highest median age among 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000
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 63.1 in West Chiltington. Nearest to Walton in age: Kingskerswell (52.7), Alrewas (52.8), Ormesby St Margaret (52.9) and Brewood (53).
No nearby town is as old as Walton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walton | 3,266 | — | 52.9 | 31% | 22% |
| Crofton | 6,127 | 1.5 mi | 44.1 | 21% | 29% |
| Sharlston | 2,163 | 2.4 mi | 45.8 | 20% | 28% |
| Crigglestone and Durkar | 6,672 | 2.7 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 26% |
| Havercroft and Ryhill | 5,204 | 2.8 mi | 42.1 | 18% | 29% |
| Hall Green | 2,307 | 2.8 mi | 47 | 23% | 28% |
| Wakefield | 97,871 | 2.9 mi | 39.8 | 17% | 29% |
| Streethouse | 1,691 | 3 mi | 39.5 | 18% | 33% |
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 Walton’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. Walton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,959 people in 2021, against 3,266 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 Walton’s residents
What is the population of Walton?
The 2021 Census counted 3,266 people in Walton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,000 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Walton?
The median age was 52.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 94% of UK towns. 8.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Walton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Walton?
37% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Walton good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Walton’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.