Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0Ruardean is older than 93% of UK towns: a median age of 52.4
In Ruardean, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, beside 73% across England’s towns. Across Ruardean, 2.4% of households live in a flat or apartment. Lower than in 94% of UK towns: 20% of households have dependent children. The 2021 Census counted 1,195 residents in 530 households.
What the Census says about Ruardean’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Ruardean’s residents are under 52.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
29% of Ruardean is 65 or over, a higher share than 89% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 9.1% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 11% in Ruardean.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
In Ruardean, 6.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 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%.
In Ruardean, 27% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Here, 5.4% of adults are full-time students. The share of residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 71% of UK towns: 2.2 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.1%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. For Ruardean, the census puts one-person households at 31%.
40% of households live in a detached house, more than in 75% 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
Households without a car or van make up 11%, against 24% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. On the census count, 15% of households live in a terraced house.
Residents born outside the UK make up 1.9% in Ruardean, less than in 99% 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 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
In Ruardean, 100% of residents have English as their main language, beside 90% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (0.8%) or in Africa (0.5%).
57% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 88% 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 Ruardean · Gloucestershire’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 37% across England’s towns, 36% of residents said they have no religion in Ruardean. By way of comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 84% of UK towns: 11%
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
29% of Ruardean’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 49% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Adults who have never married are rarer here than in three quarters of UK towns.
28% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 28% of adults in Ruardean, 34% across England’s towns; 18% have no qualification, against 18%.
No nearby town is as old as Ruardean
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruardean | 1,195 | — | 52.4 | 29% | 20% |
| Drybrook | 2,572 | 1.5 mi | 47.5 | 25% | 28% |
| Welsh Bicknor | 1,988 | 1.6 mi | 50.2 | 22% | 25% |
| Mitcheldean | 2,163 | 2.7 mi | 44.1 | 21% | 27% |
| Cinderford | 8,778 | 3.2 mi | 44 | 22% | 25% |
| Ruspidge | 2,431 | 3.8 mi | 45.2 | 21% | 27% |
| Berry Hill | 2,211 | 4.3 mi | 51.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Ross-on-Wye | 10,993 | 4.3 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 22% |
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 Ruardean’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 Ruardean’s residents
What is the population of Ruardean?
The 2021 Census counted 1,195 people in Ruardean’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ruardean?
The median age was 52.4 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ruardean?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Gloucestershire’s towns. 1.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ruardean?
36% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Ruardean good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ruardean’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.