Photo: Mick Garratt · CC BY-SA 2.0Brotton ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 98%
2.8% of households live in a flat or apartment; across England’s towns the figure is 23%. Brotton’s 2,379 households held 5,399 residents at the 2021 Census. The census found that 1.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in the town. With a median age of 46.9, Brotton is older than 68% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Brotton’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Brotton at 5,400 in 2011 and 5,300 in 2024, down 2%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 92% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Many carers
603 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
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.
Brotton’s population moved −2% on 2011, less than in 92% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Brotton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,400 people in 2011; 5,300 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+43%) and the 0 to 15 least (−18%).
In Brotton, 24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 65% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 7.5% of residents. Brotton has more residents aged 15 to 24 than nearly two thirds of UK towns, at 10%. In Filey, the oldest of North Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Brotton, 46.9. 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 England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 88% of UK towns: 6.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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%.
By class, just over a fifth of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 33% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across England’s towns. In Brotton, 4.8% of adults are full-time students.
Only 26% of households in Brotton have dependent children
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.
In Brotton the average household is 2.3 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. Against that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Census figures put one-person households at 28% in the town.
20% of households have no car or van, more than in 71% 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
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses in Brotton comes in at 23%. Lower than in 68% of UK towns: 22% of households live in a detached house. One household in every 5 has no car or van.
A lower share of residents born outside the UK than 99% of UK towns, at 1.6%
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
Here 100% of residents have English as their main language, where the figure across England’s towns is 90%. The largest groups were born in EU countries (0.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 57% in Brotton, more than in 86% 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 Brotton · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
On religion, 36% answered “no religion” and 57% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns.
12% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 95% 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
Married adults and civil partners: 49% here and 44% across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 250. Across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 8.7%.
Qualified to degree level: 21% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Brotton counts 21% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 23% have no qualification (18%).
Of 516 UK towns its size (4,000 to 7,000 people), the 222nd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Brotton in age: Overton (46.8), Axminster (46.8), Rhoose (46.9) and Seaton (47).
Median age: 3 of the 7 towns around Brotton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brotton | 5,399 | — | 46.9 | 24% | 26% |
| Carlin How | 1,196 | 1.4 mi | 41 | 18% | 26% |
| Skelton (Redcar and Cleveland) | 6,895 | 1.6 mi | 44.6 | 21% | 28% |
| Saltburn-by-the-Sea | 5,874 | 2 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 19% |
| Lingdale | 1,323 | 2.2 mi | 48 | 24% | 22% |
| Boosbeck | 1,124 | 2.2 mi | 40.5 | 16% | 31% |
| Loftus | 4,273 | 2.3 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 25% |
| Marske-by-the-Sea | 7,576 | 3.6 mi | 53.9 | 33% | 19% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Brotton’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. Brotton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,399 people in 2021, against 5,399 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 Brotton’s residents
What is the population of Brotton?
The 2021 Census counted 5,399 people in Brotton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,300 people in mid-2024, 2% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Brotton?
The median age was 46.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 68% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Brotton?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 1.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Brotton?
36% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Brotton good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Brotton’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. 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.