Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 3.0Older than 92% of UK towns: half of Rufforth is over 51.9
Set against 21% across England’s towns, 73% of households live in a detached house in Rufforth. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 652, in 272 households. In Rufforth, just over a fifth of households are one person living alone. Fewer households in flats than in 99% of UK towns: 0.7%.
In Rufforth, 25% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 75% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
In Rufforth, 4.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
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%.
Full-time students make up 5.3%, against 7.9% across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
1.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, below 93% 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.
Households with dependent children: 29%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. On average, 2.4 people share a household. Measured more widely, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 94% of UK towns, at 7.3%
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, 8.4% of households live in a terraced house here. One household in 14 has no car or van.
Only 4.4% of Rufforth’s residents were born outside the UK
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
Where 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, Rufforth has 99%. The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.5%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%).
33% of residents said they have no religion, below 87% 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: 95% of Rufforth · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Islam is the religion of 1.2% of residents. For comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. 56% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a higher share than in 85% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 95%, against 73% across England’s towns.
In Rufforth, 22% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 98% 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
16 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. At 60%, the share of married adults and civil partners is higher than in 98% of UK towns. Where nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns, Rufforth has 11%.
44% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 44% of Rufforth’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 11% have no qualification (18%).
Every neighbour of Rufforth has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rufforth | 652 | — | 51.9 | 25% | 29% |
| Upper Poppleton | 3,520 | 2.6 mi | 51.1 | 32% | 27% |
| Copmanthorpe | 3,671 | 3.8 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 27% |
| Tockwith | 1,788 | 3.8 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 31% |
| Skelton (York) | 1,380 | 3.9 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 26% |
| York | 141,696 | 4.4 mi | 36 | 16% | 24% |
| Bishopthorpe | 3,333 | 4.8 mi | 48.5 | 26% | 29% |
| Tadcaster | 6,339 | 5.7 mi | 49.4 | 25% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Rufforth’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 Rufforth’s residents
What is the population of Rufforth?
The 2021 Census counted 652 people in Rufforth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Rufforth?
The median age was 51.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rufforth?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Rufforth?
33% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 7.7% didn’t answer.
Is Rufforth good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Rufforth’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.