Photo: DS Pugh · CC BY-SA 2.0Swainby is older than 98% of UK towns: a median age of 56.4
37% of households are one person living alone; across England’s towns the figure is 30%. Swainby counted 563 residents and 281 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put households with dependent children at 17% here. At 97%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is higher than in 95% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over: 35%, a higher share than 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: just over one in ten residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. The census found that 7.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Swainby. Typically, 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.
Only 3.3% of adults are full-time students in Swainby
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 43% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 15% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The census found that 5.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Swainby.
Smaller households than 97% of UK towns: 2 people on average
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.
Against a figure of 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Swainby comes in at 2.1%.
A lower share of households in flats than 99% of UK towns, at 0.4%
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
In Swainby, 54% of households live in a detached house, beside 21% across England’s towns. Locally, 5.8% of households have no car or van. The share of households in flats across England’s towns is 23%.
In Swainby, 3.6% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.5%). At 99%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in 78% of UK towns. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%.
Swainby sits above 98% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (65%)
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 Swainby · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (1.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Chinese (0.2%). Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 31%, fewer than in 91% of UK towns. To put it in context, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Adults who have never married: 22%, a lower share than 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
18 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. On married adults and civil partners, Swainby sits higher than 92% of UK towns: 57%. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%. In Swainby, 6.8% of residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 44% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Swainby’s adults: 44% with a degree-level qualification and 11% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Every nearby town is younger than Swainby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swainby | 563 | — | 56.4 | 35% | 17% |
| Hutton Rudby | 1,955 | 2.9 mi | 55.6 | 33% | 21% |
| Stokesley | 4,906 | 5.2 mi | 54.2 | 32% | 20% |
| Yarm | 9,601 | 7 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 26% |
| Brompton | 2,034 | 7.4 mi | 46.7 | 22% | 23% |
| Great Ayton | 4,348 | 7.5 mi | 56.1 | 35% | 19% |
| Stainton | 1,817 | 7.8 mi | 48.8 | 27% | 21% |
| Ingleby Barwick | 23,380 | 7.9 mi | 38.2 | 11% | 43% |
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 Swainby’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 Swainby’s residents
What is the population of Swainby?
The 2021 Census counted 563 people in Swainby’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Swainby?
The median age was 56.4 at the 2021 Census. 7.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 35% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Swainby?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 3.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Swainby?
31% said they had no religion and 65% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 3.2% didn’t answer.
Is Swainby good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Swainby’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.