Photo: Roger Templeman · CC BY-SA 2.0Benson is younger than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 36
Here 6.7% of residents give unpaid care, where the figure across England’s towns is 8.7%. At the 2021 Census, 5,236 people lived in Benson, in 1,959 households. Across Benson, 7.8% of households have no car or van. On households in flats, Benson sits lower than 84% of UK towns: 4.7%.
What the Census says about Benson’s people
A town of families
35% of Benson’s 1,959 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 94% of UK towns. 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Benson’s residents are under 36 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 17% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
16% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
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.
From 2011 to 2024, Benson outgrew 80% of UK towns: +17%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Benson’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,500 people in 2011; 5,200 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2018 to mid-2019, up 350 people. The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+43%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (+4%).
Only 17% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 83% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 35–39: 9% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are common here: 11%, more than in 82% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Benson, 36. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Benson is a garrison town: service personnel living in barracks count as residents.
Above 97% of UK towns: 16% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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 its share of full-time students (4.2%), Benson is below 78% of UK towns. As a yardstick, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
More family households than 94% of UK towns: 35% in Benson
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Oxfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
A household here has 2.5 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Against that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone.
In Benson, 17% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 61% of UK towns
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
4.7% of households live in a flat, less than in 84% of UK towns; 30% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 72% of UK towns, at 9.4%
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
Since 2017: 14% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3.8%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Benson sits above 73% of UK towns for residents with no religion (45%)
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: 91% of Benson · Oxfordshire’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 48%, against 46% across England’s towns. 91% of residents describe themselves as White British. Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
More married adults and civil partners than 82% of UK towns: 53%
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 giving 50 hours or more a week: 80. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 32% in Benson.
41% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 41% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 9.2% hold no qualification (18%).
32nd youngest of 516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Benson in age: Backworth (36), Dickens Heath (36), Askern (36.1) and Grimethorpe (36.1).
The towns around Benson are all older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benson | 5,236 | — | 36 | 17% | 35% |
| Crowmarsh Gifford | 1,329 | 1.4 mi | 46.8 | 22% | 29% |
| Wallingford | 8,455 | 1.7 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 28% |
| Brightwell-cum-Sotwell | 1,244 | 2.4 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 30% |
| Chalgrove | 2,807 | 3.7 mi | 47.4 | 22% | 29% |
| Cholsey | 3,776 | 3.7 mi | 41.4 | 18% | 34% |
| Berinsfield | 2,773 | 4.4 mi | 39.2 | 17% | 33% |
| Watlington | 2,438 | 4.6 mi | 49.7 | 26% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Oxfordshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Oxfordshire (or England), summed the same way as Benson’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. Benson’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,735 people in 2021, against 5,236 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 Benson’s residents
What is the population of Benson?
The 2021 Census counted 5,236 people in Benson’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,200 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Benson?
The median age was 36 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Benson?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Oxfordshire’s towns. 9.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Benson?
45% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Benson good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Benson’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.