Photo: MGSpiller · CC BY 2.5

47.2Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

A smaller share of shared households of unrelated adults than 95% of UK towns: 1.4%

Households with dependent children make up 25%, against 29% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put Wilsden’s population at 3,749, in 1,670 households. Here, 8.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24. On households without a car or van, Wilsden sits lower than 65% of UK towns: 13%.

24%aged 65 or over 3.3%born abroad 1,670households

Ages

Wilsden is older than 70% of UK towns: a median age of 47.2

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

WilsdenEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Set against 18% across England’s towns, 24% of residents are 65 or over in Wilsden. In Addingham, the oldest of West Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.

Median age of UK towns of 2,500+

2535455565

■ Wilsden, 47.2. The typical town is 44.4.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1515%

15 to 248.7%

25 to 4423%

45 to 6429%

65 and over24%

WilsdenWest Yorkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

54% women, 46% men

Wilsden

England

WomenMen

About 87 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.

Students & newcomers

In Wilsden, 4.6% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 60% 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

Full-time students4.6%

Higher managerial and professional15%

Lower managerial and professional26%

Intermediate14%

Small employers and self-employed11%

Supervisory and technical5%

Semi-routine9.6%

Routine9.3%

Never worked or long-term unemployed5.8%

WilsdenWest Yorkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Wilsden

8.4%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

307

residents, 8.2%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.4× England’s share

Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Wilsden has 41% and 19%. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 8.2% here. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

Wilsden households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 66% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 15%Living alone, under 66 14%Families with dependent children 25%Couples and families, no young children 45%Shared houses and other 1.4%

Against West Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns

Wilsden

West Yorkshire’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person29%

2 people40%

3 people15%

4 people12%

5 or more4.5%

England’s towns.

One-person households: 29% of the total.

Homes & cars

Below 82% of UK towns: 5.2% of households live in a flat or apartment

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Wilsden

West Yorkshire’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van13%

One42%

Two35%

Three or more9.8%

WilsdenWest Yorkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

27% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%. On the census count, just over a quarter of households live in a terraced house.

Where people were born

Fewer residents born outside the UK than 88% of UK towns: 3.3%

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%

Wilsden

3.3%

West Yorkshire’s towns

14%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

WilsdenEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.8%

Another main language, little or no English0.3%

WilsdenWest Yorkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 15% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The share of residents whose main language is English stands at 99%.

Ethnicity & religion

A higher share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 58% of UK towns, at 51%

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

WilsdenWest Yorkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White1.3%

Asian3.4%

Mixed1.7%

Black0.4%

Other0.4%

0%10%20%

White British, not charted: 93% of Wilsden · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

WilsdenWest Yorkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion40%

Christian51%

Muslim2.6%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.9%

Other religion0.4%

Didn’t answer4.8%

0%30%60%

The share of residents with no religion is 40%, against 37% across England’s towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%. In Wilsden, 93% of residents describe themselves as White British.

Relationships & caring

30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 69% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership30%

Married or civil partnership50%

Separated1.9%

Divorced10%

Widowed7.8%

WilsdenWest Yorkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

299residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 8.3%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week4.9%

20 to 49 hours1.2%

50 hours or more2.3%

Wilsden sits close to the norm on unpaid carers: 8.3%, about the same as across England’s towns. For adults who have never married, the comparison across England’s towns is 39%. Locally, half of adults are married or in a civil partnership.

Qualifications

Degree-level qualifications: held by 34% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications15%

Apprenticeship6.3%

A levels or similar19%

Degree level34%

WilsdenWest Yorkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Degree-level qualifications cover 34% of adults in Wilsden, 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification, against 18%.

Towns its size

244th oldest of 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people

Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.

Wilsden 47.2

BailriggMilford on SeaAmlwch

174266

The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Wilsden in age: Somersham (47.1), Broadwell and Coalway (47.1), Snaith (47.2) and Lepton (47.2).

Neighbours

Nearby, 1 of 7 towns have older populations than Wilsden

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

CullingworthHardenDenholmeThorntonBingleyHaworthShipleyWilsden

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Wilsden	3,749	—	47.2	24%	25%
Cullingworth	3,096	1.4 mi	45	23%	28%
Harden	1,602	1.5 mi	53	29%	22%
Denholme	2,960	1.9 mi	40.7	17%	29%
Thornton	5,410	2.1 mi	43.2	20%	28%
Bingley	21,334	2.4 mi	45.8	23%	26%
Haworth	5,680	3.5 mi	47.2	22%	23%
Shipley	29,228	3.5 mi	39	16%	28%

More about Wilsden’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health B⁻Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute B⁺Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living BOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools CEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Wilsden’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 Wilsden’s residents

What is the population of Wilsden?

The 2021 Census counted 3,749 people in Wilsden’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Wilsden?

The median age was 47.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 70% of UK towns. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Wilsden?

93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 3.3% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Wilsden?

40% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.6% were Muslim and 4.8% didn’t answer.

Is Wilsden good for families?

25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wilsden’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.