Photo: Dave Bevis · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 93% of UK towns, at 8%
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 96%, against 73% across England’s towns. 1,003 residents in 463 households: that is Thurlstone at the 2021 Census. On the census count, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children. Adults who have never married are rarer here than in four fifths of UK towns.
What the Census says about Thurlstone’s people
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 44% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Older than 74% of UK towns: half of Thurlstone is over 47.9
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 9.9% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. In Thurlstone, 20% of residents are 65 or over.
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.
Full-time students make up 3.8% in Thurlstone, less than in 90% of UK towns
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 39% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 21% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 6.9% in Thurlstone.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 85% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against South Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The figure for one-person households is 33% in Thurlstone and 30% across England’s towns. Here, 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
29% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 81% 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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 15% of households have no car or van here. Households in flats are rarer here than in 70% of UK towns. For Thurlstone, the census puts households in detached houses at 26%.
Below 91% of UK towns: 3% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.4%) and in Africa (0.6%). Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK. Thurlstone has more residents whose main language is English than 90% of UK towns, at 99%.
49% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 91% 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: 96% of Thurlstone · South Yorkshire’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 44% of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across England’s towns is 46%. The groups that follow White British are Other White (1.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and African (0.2%). Measured more widely, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
More married adults and civil partners than 70% of UK towns: 51%
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
For 28 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 72% of UK towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 40%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 40% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 16% hold no qualification (18%).
Thurlstone sits below 3 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurlstone | 1,003 | — | 47.9 | 20% | 23% |
| Millhouse Green | 1,249 | 0.7 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 32% |
| Penistone | 8,541 | 1.1 mi | 43.6 | 21% | 30% |
| Hoylandswaine | 1,038 | 1.9 mi | 50.9 | 26% | 28% |
| Oxspring | 1,196 | 2.3 mi | 47.6 | 23% | 29% |
| Denby Dale | 2,734 | 3.1 mi | 47.4 | 24% | 27% |
| Silkstone | 1,682 | 3.7 mi | 55 | 31% | 20% |
| Silkstone Common | 1,278 | 3.8 mi | 52.3 | 28% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “South Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in South Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Thurlstone’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 Thurlstone’s residents
What is the population of Thurlstone?
The 2021 Census counted 1,003 people in Thurlstone’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Thurlstone?
The median age was 47.9 at the 2021 Census. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thurlstone?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across South Yorkshire’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thurlstone?
49% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Thurlstone good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thurlstone’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.