Photo: Alex Kinney · CC BY-SA 2.0Thropton is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 60.6
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Thropton, 16%. The village is home to 441 residents in 209 households, by the 2021 Census. In Thropton, 98% of residents describe themselves as White British. 58% of households live in a detached house, more than in 95% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over: 42%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with 13% of residents, 2.8 times the share across England’s towns. Across Thropton, 5.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 2.3%
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%.
40% of Thropton’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 15% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Across Thropton, 6.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
In Thropton, 1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Northumberland’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Thropton, 2.2. As a reference point, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. The census found that 25% of households are one person living alone here.
A smaller share of households without a car or van than 91% of UK towns: 8.1%
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
Nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, against 22% in Thropton. In one household in 12 there is no car or van. Households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 91% of UK towns: 3%
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
Compared with 90% across England’s towns, 100% of residents have English as their main language here. Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in Africa (1.1%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.1%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 59% in Thropton, more than in 93% 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: 98% of Thropton · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents with no religion at 35%, Thropton is behind 83% of UK towns on that count. For residents who describe themselves as Christian, the comparison across England’s towns is 46%.
More married adults and civil partners than 99% of UK towns: 64%
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
Some 20 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Higher than in 91% of UK towns: 11% of residents give unpaid care. The benchmark for married adults and civil partners across England’s towns: 44%.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 44%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
44% of Thropton’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have none (18%).
No nearby town is as old as Thropton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thropton | 441 | — | 60.6 | 42% | 16% |
| Rothbury | 2,025 | 1.9 mi | 57.7 | 36% | 17% |
| Longframlington | 1,357 | 6.2 mi | 55.5 | 32% | 20% |
| Felton | 1,270 | 9.7 mi | 55 | 29% | 23% |
| Shilbottle | 1,787 | 11.3 mi | 46.2 | 20% | 27% |
| Alnwick | 8,432 | 11.9 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 20% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Northumberland’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Northumberland (or England), summed the same way as Thropton’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 Thropton’s residents
What is the population of Thropton?
The 2021 Census counted 441 people in Thropton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Thropton?
The median age was 60.6 at the 2021 Census. 5.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 42% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thropton?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thropton?
35% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Thropton good for families?
16% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thropton’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.