Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 95% of UK towns: half of Pickering is over 53.8
With households with dependent children at 19%, Pickering is behind 96% of UK towns on that count. The census found that just over a third of households are one person living alone in the town. This North Yorkshire town has more residents who describe themselves as Christian than 89% of UK towns, at 57%. The 2021 Census counted 7,260 residents in 3,497 households.
What the Census says about Pickering’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Pickering’s residents are under 53.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 34% 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) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
From 2011 to 2024, Pickering outgrew 71% of UK towns: +13%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Pickering’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 6,800 people in 2011; 7,700 in 2024.
Between mid-2022 and mid-2023 the population rose by 170, its biggest one-year gain. The 65 and over age group moved most (+45%); the 0 to 15 group moved least (−4%).
34% of residents are 65 or over, a share 96% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: 8.8% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. The census found that nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 in Pickering.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Pickering, 53.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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 88% of UK towns: 3.9%
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%.
9.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Pickering households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 96% 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.
Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Pickering, 2%.
41% of households live in a detached house, more than in 77% 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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house here. Against that, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. 18% of households have no car or van. Households in flats are rarer here than in 56% of UK towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 3.4%, a lower share than 86% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.6%). For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. At 99%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in just over four fifths of UK towns. Since 2017: a tenth of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
Above 95% of UK towns: 97% of residents describe themselves as White British
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: 97% of Pickering · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2.1%), Mixed or multiple (0.3%) and Chinese (0.2%). On residents with no religion, Pickering sits lower than just over four fifths of UK towns: 35%. Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British.
27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 83% 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
211 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. By way of comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 9.4%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 29%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 29% of adults in Pickering, 34% across England’s towns; 20% have no qualification, against 18%.
32nd oldest of 538 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Red Lodge (30.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Pickering in age: Steyning (53.7), East Wittering (53.7), Marske-by-the-Sea (53.9) and Bolton-le-Sands (53.9).
Pickering is younger than 2 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pickering | 7,260 | — | 53.8 | 34% | 19% |
| Thornton-le-Dale | 1,858 | 2.4 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 17% |
| Kirkbymoorside | 2,763 | 6.5 mi | 51.5 | 30% | 19% |
| Rillington | 1,206 | 6.9 mi | 52.3 | 28% | 19% |
| Malton | 6,320 | 7.4 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 25% |
| Norton-on-Derwent | 7,909 | 7.9 mi | 43 | 21% | 26% |
| Helmsley | 1,345 | 11.2 mi | 60.2 | 42% | 14% |
| East Ayton and West Ayton | 2,809 | 11.9 mi | 51.2 | 32% | 25% |
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 Pickering’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. Pickering’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 7,260 people in 2021, against 7,260 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 Pickering’s residents
What is the population of Pickering?
The 2021 Census counted 7,260 people in Pickering’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 7,700 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Pickering?
The median age was 53.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 95% of UK towns. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Pickering?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pickering?
35% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Pickering good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Pickering’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.