Photo: Simon Mortimer · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Shinfield is under 35.3, younger than 96% of UK towns
One-person households make up 16%, against 30% across England’s towns. Shinfield’s 1,982 households held 5,417 residents at the 2021 Census. Locally, nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian. At 5.3%, the share of households without a car or van is lower than in 98% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Shinfield’s people
A town of families
45% of Shinfield’s 1,982 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 99% of UK towns and the highest share in Berkshire. 25% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
More born abroad than most towns
24% of residents were born outside the UK, against 25% across Berkshire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (12%) and in EU countries (5.7%). Where people were born ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Shinfield at 3,100 in 2011 and 6,800 in 2024, up 122%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 99% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Shinfield’s residents are under 35.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 7.6% are 15 to 24 and 9.9% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Shinfield grew +122% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 99% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Shinfield’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,100 people in 2011; 6,800 in 2024.
Mid-2018 to mid-2019 brought the biggest yearly rise, 630 people. Growth was strongest among the 0 to 15 (+164%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (+74%).
In Shinfield, 9.9% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
7.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Shinfield, 35.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
15% of residents moved in within a year, more than in 96% 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%.
3.9% of adults are full-time students; across England’s towns the figure is 7.9%. Against that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Shinfield: 45% of households have dependent children, above 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.
The typical household size is 2.7 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Shinfield has more shared households of unrelated adults than 78% of UK towns, at 3.1%. Measured more widely, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Shinfield ranks below 68% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 16%
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
Where just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, Shinfield has 35%. The comparison figure for households in terraced houses is 24% across England’s towns. The census found that 9.4% of households live in a flat or apartment here.
Residents born outside the UK: 24%, a higher share than 96% 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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in the Middle East and Asia (12%), then in EU countries (5.7%). Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. 89% of residents have English as their main language, a lower share than in 93% of UK towns. Arrivals from 2017 on account for 16% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns.
Only 63% of residents describe themselves as White British in Shinfield
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: 63% of Shinfield · Berkshire’s towns 62% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Indian (12%), Other White (7.4%) and Mixed or multiple (5.1%). Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British. Nearly two in five residents said they have no religion, a lower share than in 65% of UK towns.
Shinfield sits below 99% of UK towns for unpaid carers (5.6%)
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
63 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Against that, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 54%, more than in 84% of UK towns. The share of adults who have never married is 33%, against 39% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 50% 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 Shinfield, 9.6%, while 50% hold one at degree level (34%).
Of 516 UK towns its size (4,000 to 7,000 people), the 25th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Shinfield in age: Cottam (35.3), Long Lawford (35.3), Longstanton and Northstowe (35.5) and Marston Moretaine (35.5).
Nearby, 5 of 7 towns have older populations than Shinfield
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shinfield | 5,417 | — | 35.3 | 9.9% | 45% |
| Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross | 7,612 | 1.1 mi | 35.2 | 11% | 39% |
| Arborfield Garrison | 4,311 | 2.6 mi | 32.7 | 5.9% | 44% |
| Reading | 203,789 | 3.1 mi | 35.7 | 13% | 31% |
| Winnersh | 8,904 | 3.5 mi | 39.1 | 14% | 38% |
| Woodley | 28,019 | 3.8 mi | 41.6 | 19% | 33% |
| Wokingham | 50,320 | 4.5 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 33% |
| Sonning | 1,615 | 4.5 mi | 49.9 | 26% | 28% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Shinfield’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Shinfield’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,417 people in 2021, against 5,417 in the built-up area.
- 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 Shinfield’s residents
What is the population of Shinfield?
The 2021 Census counted 5,417 people in Shinfield’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,800 people in mid-2024, 122% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Shinfield?
The median age was 35.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 7.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 9.9% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shinfield?
63% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 62% across Berkshire’s towns. 24% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shinfield?
39% said they had no religion and 39% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 5.3% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Shinfield good for families?
45% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shinfield’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.