Photo: wx8 · Public domainOld Basing is older than 89% of UK towns: a median age of 51
The share of adults who have never married trails 96% of UK towns: 24%. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 53% here, more than in 92% of UK towns. There were 1,655 households in Old Basing at the 2021 Census, home to 3,834 residents. Locally, 13% of households live in a terraced house.
What the Census says about Old Basing’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Old Basing’s residents are under 51 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 27% 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).
In Old Basing, 8.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 86% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Compared with 18% across England’s towns, 27% of residents are 65 or over here. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Old Basing, 51. 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 England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer full-time students than 93% of UK towns: 3.6%
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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Old Basing has 7.1%. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
A lower share of households with dependent children than 81% of UK towns, at 24%
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: 29%, below 62% of UK towns. A household here holds 2.3 people on average. Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 52% of UK towns.
Fewer households without a car or van than 77% of UK towns: 11%
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
Old Basing has more households in flats than 51% of UK towns, at 11%. For households without a car or van, the comparison across England’s towns is 24%.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 67% of UK towns, at 8.5%
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
Since 2017: 10% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.6%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are common here: 98%, more than in 53% of UK towns.
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 76% of UK towns: 54%
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: 90% of Old Basing · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 90%, below 66% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%. On the census count, 38% of residents said they have no religion.
57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 93% 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
8.8% of residents give unpaid care, about the same as across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners: 44% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 38%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 38% of its adults qualified to degree level, Old Basing compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 14% hold no qualification (18%).
Ranked by age, 93rd oldest of 530 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.6 in Milford on Sea. Nearest to Old Basing in age: Brinsley and Underwood (51), Brundall (51), Burry Port (51) and Appleby-in-Westmorland (51.1).
Nearby, 2 of 7 towns have older populations than Old Basing
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Basing | 3,834 | — | 51 | 27% | 24% |
| Basingstoke | 117,211 | 2.7 mi | 37.8 | 14% | 31% |
| Sherfield on Loddon | 1,385 | 3.6 mi | 52.2 | 28% | 23% |
| Hook | 9,062 | 3.7 mi | 40.9 | 16% | 34% |
| Odiham | 5,091 | 4.1 mi | 38.8 | 19% | 31% |
| Bramley | 4,730 | 4.2 mi | 39.2 | 14% | 37% |
| Oakley | 5,264 | 6 mi | 50.5 | 30% | 25% |
| Hartley Wintney | 3,465 | 6.2 mi | 52.7 | 32% | 23% |
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 Old Basing’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 Old Basing’s residents
What is the population of Old Basing?
The 2021 Census counted 3,834 people in Old Basing’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Old Basing?
The median age was 51 at the 2021 Census, older than 89% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Old Basing?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 8.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Old Basing?
38% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Old Basing good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Old Basing’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.