Photo: Nigel Thompson · CC BY-SA 2.03% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
With a median age of 48.5, Bishopthorpe is older than 77% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 3,333 residents and 1,418 households in the town. Across Bishopthorpe, nearly a quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Households in terraced houses: 11%, below 86% of UK towns.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 77% of UK towns: 26%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 10–14 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in 64% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bishopthorpe, 48.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
6.1% of adults are full-time students, more than in 85% 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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
In Bishopthorpe, 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 74% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against North Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. One-person households: 28% of the total. Households with dependent children are more common here than in 65% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
36% of households live in a detached house, more than in 67% 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
12% of households have no car or van; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. By way of comparison, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 75% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). Lower than in nearly two thirds of UK towns: 4.8% of residents were born outside the UK. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%.
A higher White British share than 68% of UK towns: 94% of residents
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: 94% of Bishopthorpe · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 50% in Bishopthorpe. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are common here: 43%, more than in 61% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (2.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Indian (0.5%).
57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 94% 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
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Unpaid carers are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 8.9%. Some 60 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Married adults and civil partners: 44% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Degree-level qualifications: 46% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 46% of adults in Bishopthorpe (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 13% (England’s towns: 18%).
514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people: this is the 192nd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Keele (20.6) and the oldest West Chiltington (63.1). Nearest to Bishopthorpe in age: Ash (Dover) (48.4), Ambleside (48.5), Gilberdyke (48.5) and Hatfield Peverel (48.5).
Median age: 2 of the 7 towns around Bishopthorpe 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishopthorpe | 3,333 | — | 48.5 | 26% | 29% |
| Copmanthorpe | 3,671 | 1.7 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 27% |
| Heslington | 1,787 | 2.6 mi | 19.8 | 9.9% | 22% |
| York | 141,696 | 2.7 mi | 36 | 16% | 24% |
| Osbaldwick | 2,313 | 3.7 mi | 43.2 | 20% | 21% |
| Upper Poppleton | 3,520 | 4.8 mi | 51.1 | 32% | 27% |
| Huntington | 12,420 | 5 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 23% |
| Skelton (York) | 1,380 | 5.6 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 26% |
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.
- “North Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in North Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Bishopthorpe’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 Bishopthorpe’s residents
What is the population of Bishopthorpe?
The 2021 Census counted 3,333 people in Bishopthorpe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bishopthorpe?
The median age was 48.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 77% of UK towns. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bishopthorpe?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 4.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bishopthorpe?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Bishopthorpe good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bishopthorpe’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.