Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0More flats than 95% of UK towns: 30% of households in Theale
Locally, 37% of households are one person living alone. Census day 2021: 3,053 residents and 1,394 households in Theale. Few places have so few households in detached houses: 16% here, fewer than in 82% of UK towns. In Theale the average household is 2.2 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns.
A +9% change since 2011: faster than 57% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Theale’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,800 people in 2011; 3,100 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2014 to mid-2015, the population rose by 100, the most of any year. Change by age ran from +42% for the 65 and over to −7% for the 30 to 44.
Younger than 67% of UK towns: half of Theale is under 42.3
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Nothing unusual on residents aged 65 and over: 18%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 10% in Theale.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Theale, 42.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 86% of UK towns: 3.9%
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Theale has 38% and 21%. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 9.9% locally.
A smaller share of households with dependent children than 67% of UK towns: 25%
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.
There is little gap on shared households of unrelated adults: 3.7%, about the same as across England’s towns. For comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
More households without a car or van than 59% of UK towns: 17%
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
25% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns.
12% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 80% 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
Here 96% of residents have English as their main language, where the figure across England’s towns is 90%. Residents born outside the UK: 18% across England’s towns, for comparison. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (4.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (3.1%).
Residents with no religion: 46%, a higher share than 82% 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: 85% of Theale · Berkshire’s towns 62% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
85% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as Christian at 45% in Theale. Residents with no religion: 37% across England’s towns, for comparison.
42% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, below 83% 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
7.6% of residents give unpaid care (England’s towns: 8.7%). To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Locally, 37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Theale counts 33% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 17% have no qualification (18%).
514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people: this is the 95th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to Theale in age: South Hetton (42.3), Charfield (42.3), Rudloe (42.3) and Bruton (42.3).
Theale is younger than 4 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theale | 3,053 | — | 42.3 | 18% | 25% |
| Burghfield Common | 6,216 | 2.6 mi | 42.8 | 18% | 35% |
| Pangbourne | 3,279 | 3.3 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Mortimer | 2,932 | 4.1 mi | 47.3 | 24% | 29% |
| Reading | 203,789 | 4.3 mi | 35.7 | 13% | 31% |
| Upper Basildon | 1,074 | 4.6 mi | 47.1 | 20% | 32% |
| Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross | 7,612 | 5.3 mi | 35.2 | 11% | 39% |
| Caversham | 33,038 | 5.4 mi | 41.8 | 18% | 32% |
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 Theale’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. Theale’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,053 people in 2021, against 3,053 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 Theale’s residents
What is the population of Theale?
The 2021 Census counted 3,053 people in Theale’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,100 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Theale?
The median age was 42.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 67% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Theale?
85% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 62% across Berkshire’s towns. 12% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Theale?
46% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Theale good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Theale’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.