Photo: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Didcot is under 35.8, younger than 95% of UK towns
43% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Didcot counted 34,600 residents and 14,053 households at the 2021 Census. The share of households with dependent children stands at 33%. On one-person households, Didcot sits lower than 87% of UK towns: 25%.
What the Census says about Didcot’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Didcot’s residents are under 35.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 10% are 15 to 24 and 11% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Didcot at 26,700 in 2011 and 36,200 in 2024, up 35%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 95% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Growth of +35% since 2011 puts Didcot ahead of 95% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Didcot’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 26,700 people in 2011; 36,200 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2016: 980 more people. By age, the 30 to 44 group changed most (+56%) and the 16 to 29 group least (+17%).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 11% in Didcot, less than in 96% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 10% in Didcot and 12% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Didcot, 35.8. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 94% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
Here 4.3% of adults are full-time students, where the figure across England’s towns is 7.9%. The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns: 11%.
Larger households than 85% of UK towns: 2.5 people on average
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.
4.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, about the same as across England’s towns.
14% of households live in a flat or apartment, a share 67% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 14% of households have no car or van in Didcot. As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Locally, 22% of households live in a detached house. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 62% of UK towns.
Didcot: 18% of residents 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
On residents whose main language is English, 90% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (8.6%) or in the Middle East and Asia (4.7%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 78%, a lower share than 86% 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: 78% of Didcot · Oxfordshire’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%; Didcot has 45%. The groups that follow White British are Other White (10%), Indian (2.9%) and Mixed or multiple (2.5%). Residents who describe themselves as White British: 73% across England’s towns, for comparison.
A smaller share of unpaid carers than 96% of UK towns: 7%
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 615. 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 88% of UK towns. Unpaid carers: 8.7% across England’s towns, for comparison. Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 39%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Didcot, 39%, and 13% have none, against 18%.
From a median age of 30 in Hagbourne, Moreton & Cholsey to 41 in Didcot South West
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Didcot South West is the oldest area, with 19% aged 65 or over; Hagbourne, Moreton & Cholsey the youngest (median age 30). Families with children are most common in South Wantage, Harwell & Blewbury (47% of households).
Ranked by age, 7th youngest of 203 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Hatfield (30.3), the youngest, and Rustington (56.2), the oldest. Nearest to Didcot in age: Bilston (35.3), Farnworth (35.7), Northfleet (36) and Accrington (36.2).
Didcot is younger than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Didcot | 34,600 | — | 35.8 | 11% | 33% |
| Harwell | 3,067 | 2 mi | 37.7 | 17% | 38% |
| Sutton Courtenay | 3,055 | 2.6 mi | 41 | 18% | 34% |
| Blewbury | 1,708 | 2.7 mi | 52.1 | 30% | 23% |
| Chilton | 1,378 | 3.4 mi | 37 | 13% | 42% |
| Steventon | 2,211 | 3.6 mi | 41.1 | 18% | 32% |
| Brightwell-cum-Sotwell | 1,244 | 3.8 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 30% |
| Drayton | 3,110 | 4 mi | 40.8 | 19% | 33% |
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 Didcot’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. Didcot’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 33,800 people in 2021, against 34,600 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 Didcot’s residents
What is the population of Didcot?
The 2021 Census counted 34,600 people in Didcot’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 36,200 people in mid-2024, 35% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Didcot?
The median age was 35.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 95% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 11% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Didcot?
78% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Oxfordshire’s towns. 18% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Didcot?
45% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.8% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Didcot good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in South Wantage, Harwell & Blewbury (47% of households). Schools are on Didcot’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.