Church of St Stephen · Photo: Barry Shimmon · CC BY-SA 2.0Households with dependent children: 37%, a higher share than 95% of UK towns
Against a figure of 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Sparsholt comes in at 1.2%. The village is home to 434 residents in 167 households, by the 2021 Census. 13% of households live in a terraced house. On households in detached houses, Sparsholt sits higher than just over three quarters of UK towns: 40%.
Sparsholt is older than 61% of UK towns: a median age of 46
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
On residents aged 15 to 24, 12% here is much the same as across England’s towns. 18% of residents are 65 or over.
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.
A student village: 6.9% of adults study full-time
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, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Sparsholt, 41% and 14%. The census found that nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier locally. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
22% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 96% of UK towns
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.
A household here has 2.7 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. For one-person households, the comparison across England’s towns is 30%.
Households in flats: 5.5%, a lower share than 81% 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 12%, against 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%.
9.5% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 72% of UK towns don’t reach
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 Sparsholt, 97% of residents have English as their main language, beside 90% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3.3%) and in Africa (3%).
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 83% of UK towns: 56%
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 Sparsholt · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 73% across England’s towns, 90% of residents describe themselves as White British in Sparsholt. For residents who describe themselves as Christian, the comparison across England’s towns is 46%. Across Sparsholt, 36% of residents said they have no religion.
Sparsholt ranks above 92% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 57%
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
By its share of unpaid carers (7.6%), Sparsholt is below 91% of UK towns. Few places have so few adults who have never married: 28% here, fewer than in 80% of UK towns. Set beside that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 48% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Sparsholt, 48% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 11% have no qualification at all (18%). A levels top the qualifications of 15%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
2 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Sparsholt
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparsholt | 434 | — | 46 | 18% | 37% |
| Littleton | 1,506 | 1.6 mi | 35 | 19% | 26% |
| Winchester | 48,486 | 2.6 mi | 38 | 18% | 27% |
| South Wonston | 2,686 | 3.6 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 31% |
| Kings Worthy | 4,631 | 3.8 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 29% |
| King's Somborne | 1,206 | 4.5 mi | 50.7 | 27% | 24% |
| Compton | 1,307 | 4.7 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 31% |
| Twyford | 1,482 | 4.9 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 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.
- “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 Sparsholt’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 Sparsholt’s residents
What is the population of Sparsholt?
The 2021 Census counted 434 people in Sparsholt’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sparsholt?
The median age was 46 at the 2021 Census. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sparsholt?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 9.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sparsholt?
36% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Sparsholt good for families?
37% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sparsholt’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.