Photo: Pam Brophy · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of households with dependent children than 99% of UK towns: 44%
17% of households are one person living alone (England’s towns: 30%). The census found that 4.6% of households have no car or van in Hermitage. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 54% here, more than in 92% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Hermitage was home to 2,224 people in 771 households.
What the Census says about Hermitage’s people
A village of families
44% of Hermitage’s 771 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 99% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A village people move to
14% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Hermitage’s residents are under 38.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
14% of residents are 65 or over, below 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
At 12%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is in line with the figure across England’s towns. More residents are 35–39 than any other five-year age: 8.1% of residents. Half of Hermitage’s residents are under 38.9, younger than in 86% of UK towns. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 95% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
At 8.2%, full-time students sit close to the figure across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 98% of UK towns: 2.7 people each on average
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 2.5%, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
5.6% of households live in a flat or apartment, below 80% 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
14% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns.
10% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 75% of UK towns don’t reach
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 (3.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (3%). Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 97% here, fewer than in 67% of UK towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Just over a tenth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
88% of residents describe themselves as White British, below 73% 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: 88% of Hermitage · Berkshire’s towns 62% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
On residents who describe themselves as Christian, 46% here is much the same as across England’s towns. In Hermitage, 44% of residents said they have no religion.
Hermitage: 56% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, above 92% 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
Here 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 39%. Fewer unpaid carers than in 98% of UK towns: 6.5%. Married adults and civil partners: 44% across England’s towns, for comparison. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 37 people.
Qualified to degree level: 44% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Hermitage, 7.9%, while 44% hold one at degree level (34%). For 19%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
No nearby town is as young as Hermitage
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hermitage | 2,224 | — | 38.9 | 14% | 44% |
| Cold Ash | 2,267 | 1.7 mi | 39.2 | 18% | 31% |
| Upper Bucklebury | 1,036 | 3.3 mi | 47.5 | 24% | 32% |
| Thatcham | 25,537 | 3.6 mi | 41.1 | 16% | 31% |
| Compton | 1,789 | 4.2 mi | 41.2 | 15% | 40% |
| Newbury | 42,262 | 4.7 mi | 40.6 | 18% | 28% |
| Upper Basildon | 1,074 | 5.7 mi | 47.1 | 20% | 32% |
| Goring | 3,434 | 7.6 mi | 52.2 | 33% | 25% |
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 Hermitage’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 Hermitage’s residents
What is the population of Hermitage?
The 2021 Census counted 2,224 people in Hermitage’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Hermitage?
The median age was 38.9 at the 2021 Census. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hermitage?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 62% across Berkshire’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hermitage?
44% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Hermitage good for families?
44% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hermitage’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.