Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0Ripon: 56% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 85% of UK towns
By its share of one-person households (33%), Ripon is above just over three quarters of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 16,593 residents locally, living in 7,294 households. The census found that 25% of households have dependent children here. More households in flats than in 80% of UK towns: 18%.
+2% since 2011: slower than 75% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ripon’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 16,900 people in 2011; 17,200 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+36%); the 0 to 15 group moved least (−17%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2020 to mid-2021: 380 people.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 71% of UK towns, at 25%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With a median age of 46.5, Ripon is older than nearly two thirds of UK towns. For Ripon, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 11%. In Filey, the oldest of North Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ripon, 46.5. 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.
A larger share of residents who moved in within the year than 90% of UK towns: 12%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 33% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 27% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On average, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. For Ripon, the census puts full-time students at 4.7%.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 80% 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.
In Ripon, 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, beside 4.3% across England’s towns.
A town of terraces: 26% of households live in one
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
18% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Still, households in detached houses are rarer here than in 64% of UK towns.
Ripon sits above 71% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (9.2%)
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (5.2%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.7%). 96% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 71% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Since 2017: 14% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
Ripon ranks below 80% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 36%
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: 91% of Ripon · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (4.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.6%). Lower than in 55% of UK towns: 91% of residents describe themselves as White British. The usual figure: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 64% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 423 residents. On unpaid carers, Ripon sits lower than three quarters of UK towns: 8.4%. Across the comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. The figure for married adults and civil partners is 48% in Ripon and 44% across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 31%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
31% of Ripon’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 18% have none (18%).
Among 322 UK towns of 12,000 to 22,000 people, the 86th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Ripon in age: Yateley (46.4), Petersfield (46.4), Penwortham (46.5) and Ripley (46.5).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Ripon
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ripon | 16,593 | — | 46.5 | 25% | 25% |
| Dishforth | 1,266 | 4.7 mi | 33.8 | 8.8% | 45% |
| Langthorpe | 1,294 | 5.7 mi | 45.8 | 20% | 29% |
| Boroughbridge | 3,064 | 6.1 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 24% |
| Killinghall | 1,476 | 7.8 mi | 43.5 | 21% | 35% |
| Masham | 1,112 | 8 mi | 56.4 | 36% | 18% |
| Hampsthwaite | 1,169 | 8.4 mi | 46 | 27% | 29% |
| Knaresborough | 15,781 | 8.9 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 26% |
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 Ripon’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. Ripon’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 16,593 people in 2021, against 16,593 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 Ripon’s residents
What is the population of Ripon?
The 2021 Census counted 16,593 people in Ripon’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 17,200 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ripon?
The median age was 46.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 65% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ripon?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 9.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ripon?
36% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Ripon good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ripon’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.