Photo: Mr Ignavy · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 90% of UK towns: half of Basingstoke is under 37.8
Christians make up 41% of residents, against 46% across England’s towns. There were 48,352 households in Basingstoke at the 2021 Census, home to 117,211 residents. For Basingstoke, the census puts households in terraced houses at 33%. Just over a fifth of households live in a flat or apartment, a higher share than in 86% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Basingstoke’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Basingstoke’s residents are under 37.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 10% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Faster growth than 80% of UK towns: Basingstoke changed by +17% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Basingstoke’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 104,600 people in 2011; 122,400 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+39%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (+1%). The steepest year was mid-2022 to mid-2023, up 2,200 people.
Basingstoke sits below 93% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (14%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 12% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Basingstoke comes in at 10%. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. No age band is larger than 30–34: nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Basingstoke, 37.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% in Basingstoke, more than in 87% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 38% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 24% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The census found that 4.7% of adults are full-time students in Basingstoke.
Larger households than 79% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Hampshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
One-person households: 28%, below 70% of UK towns. The share of households with dependent children stands at 31%. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 92% of UK towns.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 63% of UK towns, at 18%
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
On households in detached houses, 21% here is much the same as across England’s towns. To put it in context, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents born outside the UK than 92% of UK towns: 19%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (7%) or in EU countries (6.9%). Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 90% here, fewer than in 92% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up just over a fifth of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
Basingstoke sits below 88% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (76%)
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: 76% of Basingstoke · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (8%), Indian (3.6%) and Mixed or multiple (3%). On residents with no religion, Basingstoke sits higher than 78% of UK towns: 45%. Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 73% across England’s towns.
Basingstoke ranks above 78% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 37%
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
2,408 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 7.4%, fewer than in 92% of UK towns. To put it in context, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. In Basingstoke, 46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns.
33% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 33% of its adults qualified to degree level, Basingstoke compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 15% hold no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 29 in Overton & North Waltham to 52 in Kempshott
The city’s 15 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Kempshott is the oldest area, with 30% aged 65 or over; Overton & North Waltham the youngest (median age 29). Families with children are most common in Overton & North Waltham (50% of households).
59 UK towns of 82,000 to 158,000 people: this is the 23rd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Salford (29.8) and the oldest Southport (48.4). Nearest to Basingstoke in age: Middlesbrough (37.5), Huddersfield (37.7), Halifax (37.9) and West Bromwich (37.9).
The towns around Basingstoke are all 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basingstoke | 117,211 | — | 37.8 | 14% | 31% |
| Old Basing | 3,834 | 2.7 mi | 51 | 27% | 24% |
| Oakley | 5,264 | 3.4 mi | 50.5 | 30% | 25% |
| Bramley | 4,730 | 4.7 mi | 39.2 | 14% | 37% |
| Sherfield on Loddon | 1,385 | 4.8 mi | 52.2 | 28% | 23% |
| Tadley | 14,767 | 6.3 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 27% |
| Hook | 9,062 | 6.3 mi | 40.9 | 16% | 34% |
| Odiham | 5,091 | 6.7 mi | 38.8 | 19% | 31% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Hampshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Hampshire (or England), summed the same way as Basingstoke’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Basingstoke’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 117,114 people in 2021, against 117,211 in the built-up area.
- 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 Basingstoke’s residents
What is the population of Basingstoke?
The 2021 Census counted 117,211 people in Basingstoke’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 122,400 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Basingstoke?
The median age was 37.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 90% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Basingstoke?
76% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 19% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Basingstoke?
45% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.2% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Basingstoke good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Overton & North Waltham (50% of households). Schools are on Basingstoke’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.