Photo: Colin Bates · CC BY-SA 2.0Households with dependent children: 35%, a higher share than 94% of UK towns
The average household has 2.5 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Arborfield Cross had 761 residents in 295 households at the 2021 Census. Across Arborfield Cross, 1.7% of households live in a flat or apartment. Lower than in just over four fifths of UK towns: 9.9% of households have no car or van.
A median age of 41.9: Arborfield Cross is younger than 70% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
There is little gap on residents aged 65 and over: 18%, about the same as across England’s towns. 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 94% of UK towns: 6.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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 take in 44% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 17% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Full-time students: 6.2% of the total. The share of residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A lower share of one-person households than 95% of UK towns, at 22%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Berkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 3.7%, close to the figure across England’s towns. One-person households make up 30% across England’s towns.
Fewer detached houses than 65% of UK towns: 24% of households
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
17% of households live in a terraced house (England’s towns: 24%). On average, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Arborfield Cross ranks above 61% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 7.6%
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 30%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.3%) and in Africa (2.2%). On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English: 98% here and 90% across England’s towns.
More residents with no religion than 68% of UK towns: 44%
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: 92% of Arborfield Cross · Berkshire’s towns 62% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
92% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 62% across Berkshire’s towns and 73% across England’s towns. Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 48% of the total.
Arborfield Cross ranks below 84% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 27%
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
Where 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns, Arborfield Cross has 52%. On unpaid carers, Arborfield Cross sits lower than 69% of UK towns: 8.7%. Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 19.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 36%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 36% of Arborfield Cross’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification (18%). Many of the 16% whose highest qualification is A levels are students working towards a degree.
Of the 7 towns nearest Arborfield Cross, 1 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arborfield Cross | 761 | — | 41.9 | 18% | 35% |
| Arborfield Garrison | 4,311 | 1 mi | 32.7 | 5.9% | 44% |
| Shinfield | 5,417 | 2 mi | 35.3 | 9.9% | 45% |
| Winnersh | 8,904 | 2.6 mi | 39.1 | 14% | 38% |
| Wokingham | 50,320 | 2.7 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 33% |
| Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross | 7,612 | 2.8 mi | 35.2 | 11% | 39% |
| Woodley | 28,019 | 3.8 mi | 41.6 | 19% | 33% |
| Reading | 203,789 | 4.7 mi | 35.7 | 13% | 31% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Berkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Berkshire (or England), summed the same way as Arborfield Cross’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 Arborfield Cross’s residents
What is the population of Arborfield Cross?
The 2021 Census counted 761 people in Arborfield Cross’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Arborfield Cross?
The median age was 41.9 at the 2021 Census. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Arborfield Cross?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 62% across Berkshire’s towns. 7.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Arborfield Cross?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Arborfield Cross good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Arborfield Cross’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.