Photo: DS Pugh · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Hovingham is over 58.2, older than 99% of UK towns
Compared with 37% across England’s towns, 26% of residents said they have no religion here. At the 2021 Census, 376 people lived in Hovingham, in 182 households. Locally, 15% of households have dependent children. 7.2% of households have no car or van, a lower share than in 94% of UK towns.
39% of residents are 65 or over, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: one in ten residents, 2.1 times the share across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The census found that 5.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Hovingham.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
Fewer full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 1.5%
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 Hovingham, 39% and 17%. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%. In Hovingham, 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 99% of UK towns, at 1.1%
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.
Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone; in Hovingham, 27%. Typically, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. The average household has 2.1 people.
Fewer households in flats than 83% of UK towns: 5%
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
With households in terraced houses at 16%, Hovingham is behind two thirds of UK towns on that count. The census found that 43% of households live in a detached house here. Measured more widely, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Hovingham: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 84% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns. 4.3% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 74% of UK towns.
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 99% of UK towns: 69%
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: 96% of Hovingham · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%.
Fewer adults who have never married than 99% of UK towns: 21%
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
Just over three in five adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. To put it in context, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. In Hovingham, 8% of residents give unpaid care.
41% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 41% of Hovingham’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification (18%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Hovingham, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hovingham | 376 | — | 58.2 | 39% | 15% |
| Ampleforth | 1,239 | 5.4 mi | 36.6 | 18% | 24% |
| Helmsley | 1,345 | 6 mi | 60.2 | 42% | 14% |
| Kirkbymoorside | 2,763 | 7 mi | 51.5 | 30% | 19% |
| Malton | 6,320 | 7.8 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 25% |
| Norton-on-Derwent | 7,909 | 8.5 mi | 43 | 21% | 26% |
| Huby (Hambleton) | 1,056 | 8.8 mi | 46.3 | 22% | 30% |
| Easingwold | 5,036 | 9.2 mi | 51.8 | 31% | 20% |
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 Hovingham’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 Hovingham’s residents
What is the population of Hovingham?
The 2021 Census counted 376 people in Hovingham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Hovingham?
The median age was 58.2 at the 2021 Census. 5.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 39% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hovingham?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hovingham?
26% said they had no religion and 69% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.8% didn’t answer.
Is Hovingham good for families?
15% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hovingham’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.