Photo: Heather Holdridge · CC BY-SA 2.0Romanby is older than 93% of UK towns: a median age of 52.4
Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%; Romanby has 23%. The census found that 61% of residents describe themselves as Christian in the town. 5.3% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 82% of UK towns. There were 1,767 households in the town at the 2021 Census, home to 3,825 residents.
What the Census says about Romanby’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Romanby’s residents are under 52.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Romanby at 3,900 in 2011 and 3,900 in 2024, down 1%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 88% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Romanby’s population moved −1% on 2011, less than in 88% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Romanby’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,900 people in 2011; 3,900 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+30%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−16%).
30% of Romanby is 65 or over, a higher share than 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
8.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Romanby, 52.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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 residents who moved in within the year than 90% of UK towns: 6.7%
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, 38% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 23% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). 4.4% of adults are full-time students. To put it in context, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Romanby sits below 88% of UK towns for households with dependent children (22%)
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, households average 2.4 people; in Romanby, 2.2. To put it in context, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. One-person households: 30% of the total.
A lower share of households in terraced houses than 77% of UK towns, at 14%
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
Households without a car or van make up 15%, against 24% across England’s towns. 32% of households live in a detached house.
Above 98% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 14% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. Across Romanby, 3.7% of residents were born outside the UK. The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%.
97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 94% 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: 97% of Romanby · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (1.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.2%). The share of residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns is 73%. Fewer residents with no religion than in 88% of UK towns: 33%.
Romanby: 57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, above 93% 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 109. Fewer unpaid carers than in 63% of UK towns: 8.9%. Measured more widely, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 32%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Romanby, 16%, while 32% hold one at degree level (34%).
64th highest median age among 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Milford on Sea the oldest (64.6). Nearest to Romanby in age: Istead Rise (52.2), Headley Down and Headley (52.3), Bransgore (52.4) and Fishguard (52.4).
Romanby is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanby | 3,825 | — | 52.4 | 30% | 22% |
| Northallerton | 13,314 | 0.9 mi | 47 | 25% | 24% |
| Brompton | 2,034 | 2.2 mi | 46.7 | 22% | 23% |
| Leeming | 1,712 | 4 mi | 29.1 | 8.5% | 40% |
| Leeming Bar | 1,063 | 4.9 mi | 43.4 | 22% | 26% |
| Aiskew | 1,759 | 6.1 mi | 47.2 | 21% | 28% |
| Bedale | 3,289 | 6.6 mi | 50.1 | 27% | 21% |
| Thirsk | 5,891 | 7.9 mi | 47.3 | 24% | 21% |
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 Romanby’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. Romanby’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,825 people in 2021, against 3,825 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 Romanby’s residents
What is the population of Romanby?
The 2021 Census counted 3,825 people in Romanby’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,900 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Romanby?
The median age was 52.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 93% of UK towns. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Romanby?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Romanby?
33% said they had no religion and 61% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Romanby good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Romanby’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.