Photo: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 81% of UK towns: half of Cookley is over 49.2
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 4.3% of households live in a flat or apartment in Cookley. Census day 2021: 1,971 residents and 876 households locally. Locally, 58% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Lower than in 78% of UK towns: 24% of households have dependent children.
In Cookley, 25% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 72% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24 (England’s towns: 12%). Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 8.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Cookley
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 full-time students is 4.7%, against 7.9% across England’s towns. Against that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.1% in Cookley, less than in 66% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Worcestershire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
At 2.3 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults make up 4.3% across England’s towns. Here, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Cookley ranks below 78% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 11%
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
Households in detached houses: 19% here and 21% across England’s towns. For comparison, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
2.1% born outside the UK, fewer than in 99% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Against a figure of 90% across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English in Cookley comes in at 99%. Across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 18%. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 95%, a higher share than 81% 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: 95% of Cookley · Worcestershire’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion is 35%, against 37% across England’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (0.4%). Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British.
Cookley: 11% of residents give unpaid care, above 90% 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
The share of adults who have never married is 29%, against 39% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers make up 8.7% across England’s towns. Nearly half of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Qualified to degree level: 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Cookley, 27% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 21% have no qualification at all (18%).
A younger town than 3 of the 7 around it: Cookley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cookley | 1,971 | — | 49.2 | 25% | 24% |
| Wolverley | 1,208 | 1.6 mi | 53.7 | 35% | 23% |
| Kinver | 4,651 | 2.3 mi | 54.7 | 33% | 19% |
| Blakedown | 1,448 | 2.4 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 32% |
| Kidderminster | 57,567 | 2.5 mi | 43.6 | 22% | 26% |
| Hagley | 7,012 | 3.7 mi | 44.2 | 23% | 36% |
| Stourbridge | 56,961 | 4.4 mi | 44.4 | 23% | 26% |
| Bewdley | 8,285 | 4.7 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 20% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Worcestershire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Worcestershire (or England), summed the same way as Cookley’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 Cookley’s residents
What is the population of Cookley?
The 2021 Census counted 1,971 people in Cookley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Cookley?
The median age was 49.2 at the 2021 Census. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cookley?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Worcestershire’s towns. 2.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cookley?
35% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Cookley good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cookley’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.