Photo: mattbuck ( category ) · CC BY-SA 3.0Highnam sits above 99% of UK towns for households in detached houses (84%)
3.7% of households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%). In 2021, the Census found 1,920 residents in Highnam, living in 769 households. Here, nearly a fifth of households are one person living alone. Few places have so few shared households of unrelated adults: 1.7% here, fewer than in 85% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Highnam’s people
Many older residents
30% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 90% of UK towns; 12% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
More residents aged 65 and over than 90% of UK towns: 30%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: one in ten residents, 2.1 times the share across England’s towns. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Highnam, 9% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Half of the village’s residents are over 48.3, older than in 76% of UK towns.
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.
6.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer 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%.
5.9% of adults are full-time students (England’s towns: 7.9%). As a reference point, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 89% of UK towns: 2.5 people on average
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.
Here 30% of households have dependent children, where the figure across England’s towns is 29%.
Fewer flats than 99% of UK towns: 0.9% 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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 5.8% of households live in a terraced house here. Against that, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 94% of UK towns, at 99%
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.5%) and in Africa (1.4%). Across England’s towns, nine in ten residents have English as their main language. 5.4% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 61% of UK towns.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 93% of UK towns: 59%
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: 94% of Highnam · Gloucestershire’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 73% across England’s towns, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British in Highnam. Lower than in 86% of UK towns: 34% of residents said they have no religion. On average, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and African (0.4%).
Married adults and civil partners: 63%, a higher share than 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 39. By way of comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. On adults who have never married, Highnam sits lower than 98% of UK towns: 23%. The village sits close to the norm on unpaid carers: 9.3%, about the same as across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 44% 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 Highnam, 7.6%, while 44% hold one at degree level (34%).
Older than Highnam: 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highnam | 1,920 | — | 48.3 | 30% | 30% |
| Moor End | 1,168 | 1.8 mi | 18.6 | 7.9% | 19% |
| Longford | 2,536 | 2.8 mi | 33.7 | 10% | 36% |
| Gloucester | 118,562 | 3.5 mi | 39.5 | 17% | 28% |
| Quedgeley and Hardwicke | 21,125 | 4.1 mi | 35.9 | 12% | 34% |
| Huntley | 1,152 | 4.7 mi | 51.6 | 31% | 26% |
| Churchdown | 13,480 | 4.7 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 28% |
| Upton St Leonards | 1,132 | 5.3 mi | 55.5 | 36% | 19% |
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 Highnam’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 Highnam’s residents
What is the population of Highnam?
The 2021 Census counted 1,920 people in Highnam’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Highnam?
The median age was 48.3 at the 2021 Census. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Highnam?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Gloucestershire’s towns. 5.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Highnam?
34% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Highnam good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Highnam’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.