Photo: JThomas · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 55.5: Woolley is older than 97% of UK towns
Two thirds of households live in a detached house (England’s towns: 21%). On married adults and civil partners, Woolley sits higher than 99% of UK towns: 64%. In 2021, the Census found 347 residents in the village, living in 156 households. For Woolley, the census puts households with dependent children at 22%.
5.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 14% of residents, 2.1 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 93% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 92% of UK towns: 3.7%
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%.
Nothing unusual on residents who moved in within the year: 11%, close to the figure across England’s towns. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
Woolley sits below 98% of UK towns for one-person households (20%)
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.
2.6% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Against that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The average household has 2.2 people.
In Woolley, 2% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 97% 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 without a car or van is 8.3%, against 24% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. On the census count, just over one in ten households live in a terraced house.
Woolley sits above 99% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (100%)
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in Africa (1.7%) or in EU countries (1.2%). Compared with other places, residents born outside the UK are scarce here: 4.9%, fewer than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%.
Woolley ranks below 98% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 23%
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 Woolley · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British tops nearly two thirds of UK towns: 94%. Higher than in 99% of UK towns: 69% of residents describe themselves as Christian. To put it in context, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (2.3%), African (1.4%) and Mixed or multiple (1.2%).
Adults who have never married make up 19% in Woolley, less than in 99% 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
For 13 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Woolley has more unpaid carers than 95% of UK towns, at 12%. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%.
52% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Woolley counts 52% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 11% have no qualification (18%).
Woolley 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woolley | 347 | — | 55.5 | 32% | 22% |
| Hall Green | 2,307 | 1.4 mi | 47 | 23% | 28% |
| Darton | 15,016 | 1.9 mi | 46.1 | 23% | 26% |
| Crigglestone and Durkar | 6,672 | 2.2 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 26% |
| Royston | 10,755 | 2.7 mi | 41.5 | 19% | 30% |
| Carlton | 2,125 | 3.2 mi | 47.1 | 22% | 25% |
| Barugh Green and Redbrook | 7,545 | 3.3 mi | 46.2 | 22% | 26% |
| Netherton (Wakefield) | 2,331 | 3.4 mi | 50.6 | 27% | 22% |
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 Woolley’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 Woolley’s residents
What is the population of Woolley?
The 2021 Census counted 347 people in Woolley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Woolley?
The median age was 55.5 at the 2021 Census. 5.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 32% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Woolley?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Woolley?
23% said they had no religion and 69% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Woolley good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Woolley’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.