Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 98% in Oakdale, more than in 99% of UK towns
In Oakdale, 23% of households are one person living alone, beside 32% across Wales’s towns. The town’s 2,501 households held 6,126 residents at the 2021 Census. Households in flats: 3.5% of the total. On households without a car or van, Oakdale sits lower than 77% of UK towns: 11%.
What the Census says about Oakdale’s people
A town of families
33% of Oakdale’s 2,501 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 87% of UK towns. 18% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Oakdale is younger than 70% of UK towns: a median age of 41.9
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (11%), Oakdale is above nearly four fifths of UK towns. Across Oakdale, nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Oakdale, 41.9. 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 Wales, 51% of residents are women.
6% of adults are full-time students, more than in 84% 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 Oakdale, a third of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine and semi-routine work, against 29% and 27% across Wales’s towns. Measured more widely, 8% of adults are full-time students across Wales’s towns. Across Oakdale, 8.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
More family households than 87% of UK towns: 33% in Oakdale
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Gwent’s towns and Wales’s towns
People per household
Wales’s towns.
Across Wales’s towns, 3.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Oakdale, 1.9%. There are 2.5 people in the average household. On average, 27% of households have dependent children across Wales’s towns.
A town of terraces: 26% of households live in one
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 in detached houses make up 31%, against 24% across Wales’s towns. Elsewhere, 29% of households live in a terraced house across Wales’s towns.
Oakdale sits below 99% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (1.7%)
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 10%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Where 96% of residents have English as their main language across Wales’s towns, Oakdale has 99%. Across Wales’s towns, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (0.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%).
Welsh, spoken by 9.2% of Oakdale’s residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Some 552 people here aged 3 and over said in 2021 that they can speak Welsh, 9.2% of the total, against 16% across Welsh towns: fewer than in 77% of them. In Gwent, Abertridwr and Senghenydd has the highest share (14%).
Residents with no religion: 57%, a higher share than 99% 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: 98% of Oakdale · Gwent’s towns 91% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Here 37% of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across Wales’s towns is 43%. For comparison, 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns.
51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 68% 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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 215 people. As a reference point, 43% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. 11% of residents give unpaid care, a higher share than in 86% of UK towns. Compared with 38% across Wales’s towns, 32% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 29% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 29% of its adults qualified to degree level, Oakdale compares with 31% across Wales’s towns; another 20% hold no qualification (20%).
143rd lowest median age among 624 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Oakdale in age: South Darenth and Sutton at Hone (41.9), Wincanton (41.9), Annfield Plain (42) and Highbridge (42).
Of the 7 towns nearest Oakdale, 4 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakdale | 6,126 | — | 41.9 | 19% | 33% |
| Newbridge | 7,582 | 1.4 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 27% |
| Blackwood | 12,621 | 1.4 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 27% |
| Trinant | 1,504 | 1.8 mi | 39.6 | 19% | 31% |
| Pontllanfraith | 9,363 | 1.8 mi | 43.5 | 22% | 27% |
| Swffryd | 1,721 | 2 mi | 41.5 | 19% | 26% |
| Fleur-de-lis and Pengam | 3,102 | 2.2 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 28% |
| Aberbargoed | 4,412 | 2.2 mi | 37.8 | 16% | 33% |
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.
- “Gwent’s towns” and “Wales’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Gwent (or Wales), summed the same way as Oakdale’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 Oakdale’s residents
What is the population of Oakdale?
The 2021 Census counted 6,126 people in Oakdale’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Oakdale?
The median age was 41.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 70% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Oakdale?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 91% across Gwent’s towns. 1.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Oakdale?
57% said they had no religion and 37% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Oakdale good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Oakdale’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Oakdale?
552 residents aged 3 and over, 9.2%, said they can speak Welsh at the 2021 Census, against 16% across Welsh towns.
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, TS032). 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.