How life has changed in Craven: Census 2021

The population reached nearly 57,000

Between the last two censuses (held in 2011 and 2021), the population of Craven increased by 2.7%, from just over 55,400 in 2011 to around 56,900 in 2021.

The population here increased by a smaller percentage than the overall population of Yorkshire and The Humber (3.7%), and by a smaller percentage than the overall population of England (up 6.6% since the 2011 Census).

In 2021, Craven was home to around 0.3 people per football pitch-sized piece of land. This area was the joint second-least densely populated local authority area across England (after Eden).

This article generally uses percentages to enable comparisons over time and between areas. The percentage point change is also used to show the difference between the 2011 and 2021 percentages.

Population growth was lower in Craven than across Yorkshire and The Humber

Percentage population change, Craven and surrounding areas, 2011 Census to Census 2021

An older Craven

Between the last two censuses, the average (median) age of Craven increased by three years, from 47 to 50 years of age.

This area had the joint highest average (median) age in Yorkshire and The Humber (alongside Hambleton, Ryedale and Scarborough) and a higher average (median) age than England (40 years).

The median age is the age of the person in the middle of the group, meaning that one half of the group is younger than that person and the other half is older.

The number of people aged 65 to 74 years rose by around 1,800 (an increase of 28.0%), while the number of residents between 35 and 49 years fell by around 2,100 (18.7% decrease).

The share of residents aged between 65 and 74 years increased by 2.9 percentage points between 2011 and 2021

Fewer lone parents

Craven saw England's largest percentage-point fall in the proportion of lone-parent households (from 8.1% in 2011 to 7.0% in 2021).

Bristol saw the country's next largest decrease in the percentage of lone-parent households (from 11.2% in 2011 to 10.3% in 2021).

The percentage of households including a lone parent in Craven decreased by 1.1 percentage points

Craven stood out from other areas for housing

The percentage of households in the social rented sector increased in Craven, but fell across Yorkshire and The Humber.

In Craven, the percentage of households in the social rented sector rose from 9.0% in 2011 to 9.6% in 2021. During the same period, the regional percentage fell from 18.1% to 17.3%.

Private renting in Craven increased from 15.4% to 18.1%, while the rate of home ownership decreased from 73.1% to 71.6%.

The rate of social renting in Craven increased by 0.6 percentage points

Unpaid care in Craven

Craven saw Yorkshire and The Humber's largest percentage-point fall in the proportion of people (aged five years and over) providing up to 19 hours of weekly unpaid care (from 8.4% in 2011 to 5.0% in 2021). These are age-standardised proportions.

Age-standardised proportions are used throughout this section. They enable comparisons between populations over time and across geographies, as they account for differences in the population size and age structure.

Hambleton (from 8.0% to 5.0%), Harrogate (from 7.7% to 4.7%) and Ryedale (from 7.9% to 4.9%) saw Yorkshire and The Humber's next largest decreases in the proportion of people (aged five years and over) providing up to 19 hours of weekly unpaid care.

Every local authority area across Yorkshire and The Humber saw a fall in the proportion of people (aged five years and over) providing up to 19 hours of weekly unpaid care, as the regional proportion fell from 7.1% to 4.4%.

Census 2021 was undertaken during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This may have influenced how people perceived and managed their provision of unpaid care, and therefore may have affected how people chose to respond.

Caution should be taken when making comparisons between 2011 and 2021 because of changes in question wording and response options.

The percentage of people (aged five years and over) providing up to 19 hours of weekly unpaid care in Craven decreased by 3.4 percentage points

Unemployment in Craven

In 2021, 1.5% of Craven residents (aged 16 years and over) said they were unemployed. This figure decreased from 2.2% in 2011.

In 2021, just under 6 in 10 people (55.1%) said they were employed (excluding full-time students), compared with 58.5% in 2011. The percentage of retired Craven residents increased from 28.5% to 31.8%.

This area had the region’s joint lowest percentage of people aged 16 years and over (excluding full-time students) who were unemployed (alongside Hambleton). Ryedale had Yorkshire and The Humber's next lowest percentage of people aged 16 years and over (excluding full-time students) who were unemployed (1.6%), while Kingston upon Hull had the region's highest percentage (4.1%).

Census 2021 took place during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a period of rapid and unparalleled change; the national lockdown, associated guidance and furlough measures will have affected the labour market and our ability to measure it.

The percentage of people aged 16 years and over who were unemployed (excluding full-time students) in Craven decreased by 0.7 percentage points

More adults worked short hours

Craven saw Yorkshire and The Humber's joint second-largest percentage-point rise (alongside Calderdale) in the proportion of people aged 16 years and over and in employment who said they usually worked 15 hours or less per week (from 11.0% in 2011 to 12.3% in 2021).

Across the region, only Richmondshire saw a greater rise in the percentage of people aged 16 years and over and in employment who said they usually worked 15 hours or less per week (from 8.4% to 10.8%).

Working hours may have been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The percentage of adults who worked 15 hours or less in Craven increased by 1.3 percentage points

More adults never married or in a civil partnership

Of Craven residents aged 16 years and over, 27.9% said they had never been married or in a civil partnership in 2021, up from 25.1% in 2011.

In 2021, just over one in two people (52.1%) said they were married or in a registered civil partnership, compared with 54.4% in 2011. The percentage of adults in Craven that had divorced or dissolved a civil partnership increased from 9.7% to 10.3%.

This area had the region’s second lowest percentage of people aged 16 years and over who had never been married or in a civil partnership. Across the region, only Hambleton, with 26.9%, had a lower percentage.

These figures include same-sex marriages and opposite-sex civil partnerships in 2021, neither of which were legally recognised in England and Wales in 2011. Same-sex marriages have been legally recognised in England and Wales since 2014 and opposite-sex civil partnerships have been recognised since 2019.

The percentage of adults who had never married or registered a civil partnership in Craven increased by 2.7 percentage points

Religion in Craven

In 2021, 38.5% of Craven residents reported having "No religion", up from 23.3% in 2011. The rise of 15.1 percentage points was the largest increase of all broad religious groups in Craven. Because the census question about religious affiliation is voluntary and has varying response rates, caution is needed when comparing figures between different areas or between censuses.

Across Yorkshire and The Humber, the percentage of residents who described themselves as having "No religion" increased from 25.9% to 39.4%, while across England the percentage increased from 24.8% to 36.7%.

In 2021, 53.8% of people in Craven described themselves as Christian (down from 67.3%), while 5.6% did not state their religion (down from 7.6% the decade before).

There are many factors that can cause changes to the religious profile of an area, such as a changing age structure or residents relocating for work or education. Changes may also be caused by differences in the way individuals chose to self-identify between censuses. Religious affiliation is the religion with which someone connects or identifies, rather than their beliefs or religious practice.

In 2021, 38.5% of usual residents in Craven reported having "No religion"

Craven residents' country of birth

In the latest census, around 53,000 Craven residents said they were born in England. This represented 93.1% of the local population. The figure has risen from around 51,800 in 2011, which at the time represented 93.5% of Craven's population.

Scotland was the next most represented, with around 800 Craven residents reporting this country of birth (1.4%). This figure was down from around 850 in 2011, which at the time represented 1.5% of the population of Craven.

The number of Craven residents born in Wales remained close to 300 between the last two census (from 0.6% of the local population in 2011 to 0.5% in 2021)

In 2021, 93.1% of Craven residents reported their country of birth as England

Health in Craven

In 2021, 51.9% of Craven residents described their health as "very good", increasing from 50.3% in 2011. Those describing their health as "good" fell from 33.9% to 33.6%. These are age-standardised proportions.

Age-standardised proportions are used throughout this section. They enable comparisons between populations over time and across geographies, as they account for differences in the population size and age structure.

The proportion of Craven residents describing their health as "very bad" remained 0.8%, while those describing their health as "bad" fell from 3.2% to 2.8%.

These data reflect people’s own opinions in describing their overall health on a five point scale, from very good to very bad.

Census 2021 was conducted during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This may have influenced how people perceived and rated their health, and therefore may have affected how people chose to respond.

In 2021, 0.8% of usual residents said their health was very bad in Craven

National identity in Craven

In 2021, 2.8% of Craven residents did not identify with any national identity associated with the UK. This figure increased from 2.3% in 2011.

In 2021, 1.2% of residents identified with a UK and non-UK national identity, compared with 0.4% in 2011. The percentage of residents in Craven that identified as "British only" increased from 15.8% to 58.7%.

This area had the region’s joint second lowest percentage of people who did not identify with any national identity associated with the UK (alongside East Riding of Yorkshire). Across the region, only Hambleton, with 2.3%, had a lower percentage.

In Census 2021, “British” was moved to the top response option and this may have influenced how people described their national identity. For further information, please see our quality report.

The percentage of people who did not identify with at least one UK national identity in Craven increased by 0.5 percentage points

Disability in Craven

In 2021, 5.5% of Craven residents were identified as being disabled and limited a lot. This figure decreased from 6.8% in 2011. These are age-standardised proportions.

Age-standardised proportions are used throughout this section. They enable comparisons between populations over time and across geographies, as they account for differences in the population size and age structure.

In 2021, just under 1 in 10 people (9.7%) were identified as being disabled and limited a little, compared with 9.0% in 2011. The proportion of Craven residents who were not disabled increased from 84.2% to 84.8%.

This area had the region’s second lowest proportion of residents who were identified as being disabled and limited a lot. Across the region, only Harrogate, with 5.4%, had a lower proportion.

Census 2021 was undertaken during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This may have influenced how people perceived their health status and activity limitations, and therefore may have affected how people chose to respond.

Caution should be taken when making comparisons between 2011 and 2021 because of changes in question wording and response options.

The percentage of people who were identified as being disabled and limited a lot in Craven decreased by 1.3 percentage points

Ethnic groups in Craven

In 2021, 1.0% of Craven residents identified their ethnic group within the "Mixed or Multiple" category, up from 0.7% in 2011. The 0.3 percentage-point change was the largest increase among high-level ethnic groups in this area.

Across Yorkshire and The Humber, the percentage of people from "Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups" increased from 1.6% to 2.1%, while across England the percentage increased from 2.3% to 3.0%.

In 2021, 96.9% of people in Craven identified their ethnic group within the "White" category (compared with 97.4% in 2011), while 1.7% identified their ethnic group within the "Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh" category (compared with 1.8% the previous decade).

The percentage of people who identified their ethnic group within the "Other" category ("Arab" or "Any other ethnic group") increased from 0.1% in 2011 to 0.3% in 2021.

There are many factors that may be contributing to the changing ethnic composition of England and Wales, such as differing patterns of ageing, fertility, mortality, and migration. Changes may also be caused by differences in the way individuals chose to self-identify between censuses.

In 2021, 1.0% of usual residents in Craven identified their ethnic group within the "Mixed or Multiple" category

About the data

Census data are adjusted to reflect estimated non-response so that the published results relate to the entire usually resident population as it was on Census Day (21 March 2021).

Those respondents who were on furlough because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were asked to classify themselves as "temporarily away from work" to ensure they remained in the economically active population.

Students are counted as usually resident at their term-time address even if they were not physically present there on Census Day.

The questions relating to disability differed slightly between 2011 and 2021 to ensure that data were more closely aligned with the definition of disability in the Equality Act (2010). There was also a change to question wording for unpaid care, for more information read the health, disability and unpaid care quality information.

Age-standardised proportions are used throughout the health, disability and unpaid care sections. They allow for fairer comparisons between populations over time and across geographies, as they account for differences in the population size and age structure. The 2013 European Standard Population is used to standardise proportions.

Percentages and percentage point changes have been individually rounded to one decimal place. This means they may not sum exactly.

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About these articles

There is an article like this for every local authority district in England and Wales. The articles have been written and semi-automated by our data journalists and are a new publishing format for the Office for National Statistics.

Topics are chosen and ordered automatically based on how relevant they are for each area, however all data are checked before publishing.

We have not included topics that were new for Census 2021 or where there is no comparability with the 2011 Census. Read about how we developed and tested the questions for Census 2021.

These articles were first published on 8 December 2022 covering topics such as demography, country of birth, ethnic groups, religion, national identity and economic activity status. They were updated on 19 January 2023 following the release of more data from Census 2021 and now include housing tenure, general health, disability and unpaid care.

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