Photo: Steinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0

39.9Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

A larger share of households in terraced houses than 91% of UK towns: 36%

21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, against 16% in Sharpness. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 1,237, in 513 households. On the census count, 96% of residents describe themselves as White British. With a median age of 39.9, Sharpness is younger than just over four fifths of UK towns.

17%aged 65 or over 3.8%born abroad 513households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Sharpness’s people

47%said they have no religion; England’s towns 37%

More with no religion than most

47% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 48% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓

Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).

Ages

Only 17% of residents are 65 or over in Sharpness

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

SharpnessEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

The biggest five-year age group is 35–39, with 8% of residents. Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in 53% of UK towns. On average, 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%.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1520%

15 to 249.7%

25 to 4428%

45 to 6425%

65 and over17%

SharpnessGloucestershire’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

49% women, 51% men

Sharpness

England

WomenMen

About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

Only 3.8% of adults are full-time students in Sharpness

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

Full-time students3.8%

Higher managerial and professional9.7%

Lower managerial and professional18%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed12%

Supervisory and technical7.2%

Semi-routine15%

Routine17%

Never worked or long-term unemployed6.2%

SharpnessGloucestershire’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Sharpness

6.1%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 6.1%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.4× England’s share

In Sharpness, 6.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across England’s towns. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

Larger households than 77% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 15%Living alone, under 66 16%Families with dependent children 30%Couples and families, no young children 37%Shared houses and other 2.7%

Against Gloucestershire’s towns and England’s towns

Sharpness

Gloucestershire’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person30%

2 people31%

3 people18%

4 people14%

5 or more7%

England’s towns.

The share of shared households of unrelated adults tops just over two thirds of UK towns: 2.7%. 30% of households have dependent children. One-person households are more common here than in 54% of UK towns.

Homes & cars

In Sharpness, 12% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 70% of UK towns

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Sharpness

Gloucestershire’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van12%

One39%

Two33%

Three or more16%

SharpnessGloucestershire’s townsEngland’s towns

Households in flats account for 11%. The wider picture: 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.

Where people were born

Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 90% 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%

Sharpness

3.8%

Gloucestershire’s towns

10%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.8%

Another main language, little or no English0.2%

SharpnessGloucestershire’s townsEngland’s towns

Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.9%) or in Africa (0.6%). 3.8% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 80% of UK towns.

Ethnicity & religion

Residents with no religion make up 47% in Sharpness, more than in 86% 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

SharpnessGloucestershire’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White2.3%

Asian0.3%

Mixed0.5%

Black0.5%

Other0.1%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 96% of Sharpness · Gloucestershire’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

SharpnessGloucestershire’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion47%

Christian48%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.5%

Other religion0.1%

Didn’t answer4.5%

0%30%60%

By its share of residents who describe themselves as Christian (48%), Sharpness is below 63% of UK towns. Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.3%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and African (0.3%).

Relationships & caring

36% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a share 69% of UK towns don’t reach

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership36%

Married or civil partnership43%

Separated1.4%

Divorced13%

Widowed7.6%

SharpnessGloucestershire’s townsEngland’s towns

107residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 9.2%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week4.2%

20 to 49 hours1.4%

50 hours or more3.6%

Married adults and civil partners: 43% here and 44% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 42. Fewer unpaid carers than in 55% of UK towns: 9.2%. On average, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.

Qualifications

22% of adults have qualifications at degree level

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications20%

Apprenticeship6.8%

A levels or similar19%

Degree level22%

SharpnessGloucestershire’s townsEngland’s towns

Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Sharpness, 20%, while 22% hold one at degree level (34%).

Neighbours

Every neighbour of Sharpness has an older population

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

BerkeleyLydneyBlakeneyYorkley and WhitecroftCamBreamDursleySharpness

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Sharpness	1,237	—	39.9	17%	30%
Berkeley	2,250	1.6 mi	46	24%	24%
Lydney	9,655	2.6 mi	44	23%	26%
Blakeney	1,303	3.1 mi	49.4	26%	23%
Yorkley and Whitecroft	2,678	4.1 mi	51	27%	23%
Cam	7,730	4.4 mi	49.2	25%	24%
Bream	3,117	5 mi	48.6	24%	26%
Dursley	7,935	5.4 mi	42.5	19%	29%

More about Sharpness’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health C⁺Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute C⁺Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living A⁻Owners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools C⁺Every primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Sharpness’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 Sharpness’s residents

What is the population of Sharpness?

The 2021 Census counted 1,237 people in Sharpness’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Sharpness?

The median age was 39.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Sharpness?

96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Gloucestershire’s towns. 3.8% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Sharpness?

47% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.

Is Sharpness good for families?

30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sharpness’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.