Photo: David Martin · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Faringdon is under 40.4, younger than 78% of UK towns
With households in flats at 19%, Faringdon is ahead of 80% of UK towns on that count. At the 2021 Census Faringdon was home to 8,625 people in 3,718 households. Locally, 45% of residents said they have no religion. Lower than in 63% of UK towns: 13% of households have no car or van.
What the Census says about Faringdon’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Faringdon at 8,000 in 2011 and 10,400 in 2024, up 30%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 94% 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.
A +30% change since 2011: Faringdon grew faster than 94% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Faringdon’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,000 people in 2011; 10,400 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+45%) and 16 to 29 least (+21%). In one year, mid-2023 to mid-2024, the population rose by 390, the most of any year.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.2%, a lower share than 69% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 7.6% of residents. Measured more widely, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. 18% of residents are 65 or over, a lower share than in 75% of UK towns. In Goring, the oldest of Oxfordshire’s towns by this measure, it is 33%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Faringdon, 40.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 4.1% of adults are full-time students in Faringdon
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Faringdon has 41% and 21%. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%. In Faringdon, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
In Faringdon, 2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 69% of UK towns
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.
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Faringdon, 30%. As a yardstick, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. There are 2.3 people in the average household.
Faringdon: 26% of households live in a terraced house, above 71% 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
For Faringdon, the census puts households in detached houses at 29%. Across the comparison, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Above 77% of UK towns: 11% of residents were 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
The share of residents whose main language is English trails 71% of UK towns: 96%. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (4.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.2%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 87% in Faringdon, less than in 73% 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: 87% of Faringdon · Oxfordshire’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (5.9%), Mixed or multiple (2%) and African (1%). At 47%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in 70% of UK towns.
A smaller share of unpaid carers than 87% of UK towns: 7.8%
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 184 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. By way of comparison, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. The share of adults who have never married is 34%, against 39% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 40% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 40% of adults in Faringdon, 34% across England’s towns; 14% have no qualification, against 18%.
78th lowest median age among 482 UK towns of 6,000 to 12,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Tidworth is the youngest (28.4); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Faringdon in age: Upton (40.3), Irthlingborough (40.3), Gwersyllt (40.4) and Fence Houses (40.5).
Faringdon and its 7 nearest towns: 5 of them are 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faringdon | 8,625 | — | 40.4 | 18% | 30% |
| Stanford in the Vale | 2,302 | 3.5 mi | 45.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Shrivenham and Watchfield | 5,353 | 4.4 mi | 39.2 | 17% | 34% |
| Highworth | 7,932 | 5.5 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 23% |
| Lechlade-on-Thames | 2,208 | 5.5 mi | 51.5 | 29% | 22% |
| Bampton | 2,994 | 5.5 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 26% |
| Aston | 1,174 | 6.1 mi | 47.2 | 22% | 32% |
| East Challow | 1,031 | 7.2 mi | 38.6 | 17% | 36% |
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 Faringdon’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. Faringdon’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 9,404 people in 2021, against 8,625 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 Faringdon’s residents
What is the population of Faringdon?
The 2021 Census counted 8,625 people in Faringdon’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,400 people in mid-2024, 30% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Faringdon?
The median age was 40.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 78% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Faringdon?
87% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Oxfordshire’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Faringdon?
45% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Faringdon good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Faringdon’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.