Photo: Oscar Taylor · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households with dependent children than 98% of UK towns, at 40%
18% of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns. Compton’s 649 households held 1,789 residents at the 2021 Census. Census figures put residents aged 65 and over at 15% locally. Few places have so few households without a car or van: 6.9% here, fewer than in 95% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Compton’s people
A village of families
40% of Compton’s 649 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 98% of UK towns. 23% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Younger than 74% of UK towns: half of Compton is under 41.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. In Wargrave, the oldest of Berkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 25%.
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.
5.8% of adults are full-time students, more than in 80% 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
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
In Compton, 44% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 19% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison. Residents who moved in within the year account for 8.7%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.8 people per household, more than in 99% of UK towns
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.
3.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, about the same as across England’s towns.
Households in terraced houses: 15%, a lower share than 73% 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 figure for households in detached houses is 38% in Compton and 21% across England’s towns. Fewer households in flats than in 69% of UK towns: 7.5%. Households in terraced houses: 24% across England’s towns, for comparison.
More residents born outside the UK than 64% of UK towns: 8.1%
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3.7%) and in Africa (1.7%). As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 63% of UK towns. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 15% (England’s towns: 21%).
A larger share of residents with no religion than 56% of UK towns: 42%
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 Compton · Berkshire’s towns 62% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (5.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Caribbean (0.5%). 51% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 56% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Here 92% of residents describe themselves as White British, where the figure across England’s towns is 73%.
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 89% of UK towns, at 55%
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
Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; in Compton, 29%. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. On the census count, 7.9% of residents give unpaid care.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 39% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Compton counts 39% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 11% have no qualification (18%).
4 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Compton
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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 Compton’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 Compton’s residents
What is the population of Compton?
The 2021 Census counted 1,789 people in Compton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Compton?
The median age was 41.2 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Compton?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 62% across Berkshire’s towns. 8.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Compton?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Compton good for families?
40% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Compton’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.