Photo: Brendan and Ruth McCartney · CC BY-SA 2.0Swallowfield: 67% of households live in a detached house, above 99% of UK towns
In Swallowfield, 7.2% of households have no car or van, beside 24% across England’s towns. Census figures put one-person households at 19% in the village. With a median age of 50.6, Swallowfield is older than 88% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 681, in 277 households.
In Swallowfield, 8.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with just over one in ten residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. For comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Here, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 84% of UK towns: 7.1%
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%.
By class, 54% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 13% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On full-time students, Swallowfield sits lower than three quarters of UK towns: 4.3%. The wider picture: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
2.5 people per household, more than in 87% 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 share of households with dependent children tops 74% of UK towns: 30%. More shared households of unrelated adults than in 92% of UK towns: 4%.
Fewer flats than 97% of UK towns: 1.8% 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
The share of households in terraced houses is 9.1%, against 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, households in flats come to 23%.
Swallowfield: 10% of residents were born outside the UK, above 76% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
With residents whose main language is English at 97%, Swallowfield is behind 62% of UK towns on that count. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.9%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Swallowfield sits above 66% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (52%)
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: 90% of Swallowfield · Berkshire’s towns 62% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Islam is the religion of 1.3% of residents. Typically, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Swallowfield has fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than nearly two thirds of UK towns, at 90%. Compared with 37% across England’s towns, 38% of residents said they have no religion here.
65% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 99% 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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 16. At 21%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in 99% of UK towns. The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%. Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 9%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 51% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 51% of its adults qualified to degree level, Swallowfield compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 11% hold no qualification (18%).
No nearby town is as old as Swallowfield
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swallowfield | 681 | — | 50.6 | 22% | 30% |
| Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross | 7,612 | 1.4 mi | 35.2 | 11% | 39% |
| Shinfield | 5,417 | 2 mi | 35.3 | 9.9% | 45% |
| Arborfield Garrison | 4,311 | 2.5 mi | 32.7 | 5.9% | 44% |
| Burghfield Common | 6,216 | 4.7 mi | 42.8 | 18% | 35% |
| Mortimer | 2,932 | 4.7 mi | 47.3 | 24% | 29% |
| Reading | 203,789 | 4.8 mi | 35.7 | 13% | 31% |
| Winnersh | 8,904 | 5 mi | 39.1 | 14% | 38% |
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 Swallowfield’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 Swallowfield’s residents
What is the population of Swallowfield?
The 2021 Census counted 681 people in Swallowfield’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Swallowfield?
The median age was 50.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Swallowfield?
90% 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 Swallowfield?
38% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.3% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Swallowfield good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Swallowfield’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.