Photo: Gordon Hatton · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer one-person households than 99% of UK towns: 19%
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 7.3% of households have no car or van in Topcliffe. The village had 344 residents and 148 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 49.5. Here, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British. Compared with other places, households with dependent children are scarce here: 22%, fewer than in 88% of UK towns.
7.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
People aged 65 and over make up 27% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. The median age in Topcliffe is 49.5, higher than in 83% of UK towns. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 4.1% of adults are full-time students in Topcliffe
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%.
10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Larger households than 68% of UK towns: 2.4 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 3.4%, near enough the figure across England’s towns.
Topcliffe sits below 94% of UK towns for households in flats (2.7%)
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
By its share of households in terraced houses (15%), Topcliffe is below 72% of UK towns. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 53% here, more than in 92% of UK towns. The usual figure: 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Only 5.2% of residents were born outside the UK in Topcliffe
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (4.7%) or in Africa (0.3%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 98% of residents have English as their main language (England’s towns: 90%).
Topcliffe sits below 96% of UK towns for residents with no religion (27%)
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 Topcliffe · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 62% in Topcliffe and 46% across England’s towns. For comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners make up 57% in Topcliffe, more than in 94% 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
Unpaid carers: 10% here and 8.7% across England’s towns. For Topcliffe, the census puts adults who have never married at 26%. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
32% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 32% of adults in Topcliffe, 34% across England’s towns; 14% have no qualification, against 18%.
1 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Topcliffe
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topcliffe | 344 | — | 49.5 | 27% | 22% |
| Dishforth | 1,266 | 2.4 mi | 33.8 | 8.8% | 45% |
| Sowerby | 4,727 | 3.5 mi | 45 | 25% | 26% |
| Thirsk | 5,891 | 4.3 mi | 47.3 | 24% | 21% |
| Langthorpe | 1,294 | 5.5 mi | 45.8 | 20% | 29% |
| Boroughbridge | 3,064 | 6 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 24% |
| Ripon | 16,593 | 6.6 mi | 46.5 | 25% | 25% |
| Easingwold | 5,036 | 8.9 mi | 51.8 | 31% | 20% |
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 Topcliffe’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 Topcliffe’s residents
What is the population of Topcliffe?
The 2021 Census counted 344 people in Topcliffe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Topcliffe?
The median age was 49.5 at the 2021 Census. 7.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Topcliffe?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Topcliffe?
27% said they had no religion and 62% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 10% didn’t answer.
Is Topcliffe good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Topcliffe’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.