Photo: Jonathan Billinger · CC BY-SA 2.0In Bream, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 97% of UK towns
Nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, against 3.3% in Bream. For Bream, the census puts households without a car or van at 10%. On unpaid carers, Bream sits higher than 87% of UK towns: 11%. Census day 2021: 3,117 residents and 1,357 households locally.
Since 2011, Bream has changed by +1%, slower than 81% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bream’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,200 people in 2011; 3,200 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2020 to mid-2021, up 40 people. Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+38%) and the 0 to 15 least (−21%).
A median age of 48.6: Bream is older than 77% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 12% across England’s towns, 9.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Bream. By contrast, residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 65% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bream, 48.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Bream ranks above 69% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.3%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 27% of Bream’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 28%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 8.4% locally.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Below 66% of UK towns: 26% of households have dependent children
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Gloucestershire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
At 2.3 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2%. On one-person households, Bream sits lower than 68% of UK towns: 28%.
In Bream, 42% of households live in a detached house, more than in 79% 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
With households in terraced houses at 14%, Bream is behind three quarters of UK towns on that count. As a yardstick, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Bream ranks below 87% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 3.3%
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 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The share of residents whose main language is English tops 93% of UK towns: 99%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.6%). Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 62% of UK towns, at 43%
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: 97% of Bream · Gloucestershire’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
50% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 60% of UK towns: 50%
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
108 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. On adults who have never married, Bream sits lower than 58% of UK towns: 31%. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 25%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
19% of Bream’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 25% have one at degree level (34%).
187th oldest of 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people
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 Bream in age: Forest Row (48.5), West Bergholt (48.6), Goff's Oak (48.6) and Ashburton (48.6).
Nearby, 3 of 7 towns have older populations than Bream
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bream | 3,117 | — | 48.6 | 24% | 26% |
| Yorkley and Whitecroft | 2,678 | 1.8 mi | 51 | 27% | 23% |
| Lydney | 9,655 | 2.5 mi | 44 | 23% | 26% |
| Broadwell and Coalway | 3,304 | 3.6 mi | 47.1 | 24% | 26% |
| Coleford | 5,023 | 3.7 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 22% |
| Blakeney | 1,303 | 4.1 mi | 49.4 | 26% | 23% |
| Berry Hill | 2,211 | 4.7 mi | 51.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Sharpness | 1,237 | 5 mi | 39.9 | 17% | 30% |
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.
- “Gloucestershire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Gloucestershire (or England), summed the same way as Bream’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. Bream’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,259 people in 2021, against 3,117 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 Bream’s residents
What is the population of Bream?
The 2021 Census counted 3,117 people in Bream’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,200 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Bream?
The median age was 48.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 77% of UK towns. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bream?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Gloucestershire’s towns. 3.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bream?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Bream good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bream’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.