Church of St Helen · Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0Households without a car or van: 28%, a higher share than 93% of UK towns
Set against 44% across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership in Thurnscoe. Across Thurnscoe, 13% of households live in a detached house. With a median age of 39.6, Thurnscoe is younger than 82% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 9,133, in 4,036 households.
Since 2011, Thurnscoe has grown +16%, faster than 78% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Thurnscoe’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,700 people in 2011; 10,100 in 2024.
The 30 to 44 age group moved most (+37%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (−3%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2021 to mid-2022: 210 people.
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 66% of UK towns: 10%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
There is little gap on residents aged 65 and over: 18%, about the same as across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. 55–59 is the most common age band: 7.5% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Thurnscoe, 39.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Thurnscoe, 4.6% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 59% 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 16% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 37% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year: 8.9% of the total. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
A smaller share of shared households of unrelated adults than 72% of UK towns: 2%
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 typical household size is 2.2 people. Shared households of unrelated adults make up 4.3% across England’s towns. Census figures put one-person households at 32% in Thurnscoe. Households with dependent children are more common here than in 66% of UK towns.
Thurnscoe sits below 73% of UK towns for households in flats (6.9%)
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
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house; in Thurnscoe, 23%.
Only 95% of residents have English as their main language in Thurnscoe
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (4.8%) or in Africa (0.7%). As a reference point, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Arrivals from 2017 on account for 17% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns.
44% of residents said they have no religion, a share 71% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 93% of Thurnscoe · South Yorkshire’s towns 83% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 93% here and 73% across England’s towns. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (4.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and African (0.7%).
Thurnscoe ranks above 88% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 11%
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
In Thurnscoe, 40% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, beside 39% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers make up 8.7% across England’s towns. For 397 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Among adults, 16% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
16% of Thurnscoe’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 33% have none (18%).
482 UK towns of 6,000 to 12,000 people: this is the 57th youngest
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 Tidworth (28.4), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Thurnscoe in age: South Kirkby (39.5), Ystrad Mynach (39.5), Harworth and Bircotes (39.6) and Sileby (39.6).
Thurnscoe is younger than 4 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurnscoe | 9,133 | — | 39.6 | 18% | 29% |
| Goldthorpe | 7,493 | 1.1 mi | 38 | 15% | 29% |
| Great Houghton | 2,489 | 1.4 mi | 45.2 | 21% | 25% |
| Bolton upon Dearne | 7,440 | 2 mi | 39.8 | 17% | 30% |
| Barnburgh and Harlington | 1,849 | 2.4 mi | 53.5 | 31% | 20% |
| Darfield | 7,209 | 2.8 mi | 44.3 | 23% | 26% |
| South Kirkby | 8,880 | 3.1 mi | 39.5 | 18% | 31% |
| Grimethorpe | 5,065 | 3.3 mi | 36.1 | 14% | 32% |
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 Thurnscoe’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. Thurnscoe’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 9,517 people in 2021, against 9,133 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 Thurnscoe’s residents
What is the population of Thurnscoe?
The 2021 Census counted 9,133 people in Thurnscoe’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,100 people in mid-2024, 16% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Thurnscoe?
The median age was 39.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 82% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thurnscoe?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 83% across South Yorkshire’s towns. 6.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thurnscoe?
44% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Thurnscoe good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thurnscoe’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.