Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0Wetherby is older than 89% of UK towns: a median age of 50.8
Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%; Wetherby has 26%. The town counted 11,711 residents and 5,297 households at the 2021 Census. On the census count, three in five residents describe themselves as Christian. Nearly a quarter of households have dependent children, a lower share than in 87% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Wetherby’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Wetherby’s residents are under 50.8 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.
A growing town: +8% since 2011, faster than 51% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wetherby’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 11,100 people in 2011; 11,900 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+38%) and 16 to 29 least (−7%). The steepest year was mid-2018 to mid-2019, up 330 people.
Above 92% of UK towns: 31% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 12% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Wetherby comes in at 8.3%. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wetherby, 50.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 83% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 43% of Wetherby’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 19%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year are more common here than in 59% of UK towns. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 82% 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.
Where 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, Wetherby has 31%. 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
43% of households live in a detached house, more than in 81% of UK towns
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
The share of households in flats is 15%, against 23% across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses: 17% of the total. On households without a car or van, Wetherby sits higher than 53% of UK towns: 16%. Across the comparison, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
99% of residents have English as their main language, a share 76% of UK towns don’t reach
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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.4%) and in Africa (0.7%). Few places have so few residents born outside the UK: 4.6% here, fewer than in just over two thirds of UK towns. Measured more widely, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Where 21% of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 15%.
Residents with no religion: 33%, a lower share than 88% 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 Wetherby · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British tops 64% of UK towns: 94%. As a yardstick, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Next after White British come Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Indian (0.6%).
53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 81% 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
Nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care, about the same as across England’s towns. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
39% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Wetherby, 39% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 17% have no qualification at all (18%).
Ranked by age, 40th oldest of 432 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Wetherby in age: Wells (50.7), Morpeth (50.8), Poulton-le-Fylde (50.9) and Longton (50.9).
Wetherby is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wetherby | 11,711 | — | 50.8 | 31% | 23% |
| Collingham | 2,362 | 2.2 mi | 50 | 28% | 28% |
| Boston Spa | 6,358 | 2.4 mi | 47.8 | 27% | 27% |
| Thorp Arch | 1,782 | 2.7 mi | 38.9 | 15% | 27% |
| Spofforth | 1,175 | 2.8 mi | 49.5 | 25% | 27% |
| Bardsey | 1,819 | 3.6 mi | 50.1 | 28% | 27% |
| East Keswick | 1,145 | 3.7 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 28% |
| Bramham | 1,764 | 3.8 mi | 46.3 | 23% | 29% |
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 Wetherby’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. Wetherby’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 12,070 people in 2021, against 11,711 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 Wetherby’s residents
What is the population of Wetherby?
The 2021 Census counted 11,711 people in Wetherby’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 11,900 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wetherby?
The median age was 50.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 89% of UK towns. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wetherby?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 4.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wetherby?
33% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Wetherby good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wetherby’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.