Photo: David Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 97% of UK towns: 97%
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 3.4% of households live in a flat or apartment in Drybrook. The town had 2,572 residents in 1,056 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 52% of households live in a detached house. The median age here is 47.5, higher than in 72% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over: 25%, a higher share than 70% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 8% of residents. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are common here: 10%, more than in just over three fifths of UK towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Minchinhampton, the oldest of Gloucestershire’s towns by this measure, it is 34%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Drybrook, 47.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
6.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 95% 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%.
Here 5% of adults are full-time students, where the figure across England’s towns is 7.9%. Residents who moved in within the year: 11% across England’s towns, for comparison.
In Drybrook, 26% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 80% of UK towns
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.
A household here has 2.4 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. The comparison figure for one-person households is 30% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.9% of the total.
Below 84% of UK towns: 12% of households live in a terraced house
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
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van in Drybrook comes in at 12%.
Only 2.6% of residents were born outside the UK in Drybrook
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (0.9%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.5%). More residents whose main language is English than in 94% of UK towns: 99%. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%.
Drybrook: 43% of residents said they have no religion, above 65% 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: 97% of Drybrook · Gloucestershire’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
51% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion.
Married adults and civil partners: 51%, a higher share than 69% 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
83 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. On adults who have never married, Drybrook sits lower than just over two thirds of UK towns: 30%. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Against a figure of 8.7% across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers in Drybrook comes in at 10%.
25% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Drybrook’s adults: 25% with a degree-level qualification and 20% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Of 219 UK towns its size (2,500 to 3,000 people), the 94th oldest
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 St Mary's Bay (60.8), the oldest. Nearest to Drybrook in age: Chalgrove (47.4), Over (47.5), Barlborough (47.6) and Barlestone (47.6).
Older than Drybrook: 4 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drybrook | 2,572 | — | 47.5 | 25% | 28% |
| Mitcheldean | 2,163 | 1.4 mi | 44.1 | 21% | 27% |
| Ruardean | 1,195 | 1.5 mi | 52.4 | 29% | 20% |
| Cinderford | 8,778 | 2.2 mi | 44 | 22% | 25% |
| Welsh Bicknor | 1,988 | 2.9 mi | 50.2 | 22% | 25% |
| Ruspidge | 2,431 | 3.1 mi | 45.2 | 21% | 27% |
| Newnham | 1,054 | 4.4 mi | 53.6 | 32% | 18% |
| Huntley | 1,152 | 4.9 mi | 51.6 | 31% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Drybrook’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 Drybrook’s residents
What is the population of Drybrook?
The 2021 Census counted 2,572 people in Drybrook’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Drybrook?
The median age was 47.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 72% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Drybrook?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Gloucestershire’s towns. 2.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Drybrook?
43% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Drybrook good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Drybrook’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.