Photo: Charlesdrakew · Public domainHalf of Cocking is over 50.1, older than 85% of UK towns
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van in Cocking comes in at 8.6%. 59% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a higher share than in 96% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 473 residents and 200 households in the village. Households in detached houses account for 40%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 73% of UK towns: 25%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. For Cocking, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.3%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 73% of UK towns: 5.4% of adults are full-time students
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 residents who moved in within the year (7.9%), Cocking is below 68% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Cocking has 38% and 15%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Fewer one-person households than 88% of UK towns: 25%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against West Sussex’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Households with dependent children are about as common here as across England’s towns: 29%. As a yardstick, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. There are 2.4 people in the average household.
Households in terraced houses: 8.4%, a lower share than 93% 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
Households in flats: 7.4%, below 70% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 75% of UK towns: 4.2%
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.5%) and in Africa (1.1%). For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Cocking has more residents whose main language is English than 70% of UK towns, at 98%.
In Cocking, 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 81% 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: 95% of Cocking · West Sussex’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (3.4%), Mixed or multiple (0.4%) and Caribbean (0.2%). Compared with other places, residents with no religion are common here: 42%, more than in three fifths of UK towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns: 73%. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%; Cocking has 49%.
Unpaid carers make up 6.2% in Cocking, less than in 99% of UK towns
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 9 residents. The benchmark for unpaid carers across England’s towns: 8.7%. Fewer adults who have never married than in 88% of UK towns: 26%.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 34% of adults in Cocking (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 13% (England’s towns: 18%).
2 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Cocking
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocking | 473 | — | 50.1 | 25% | 29% |
| Midhurst | 5,366 | 2.2 mi | 50.2 | 30% | 22% |
| Easebourne | 1,396 | 3.2 mi | 51.5 | 31% | 24% |
| Mid Lavant | 1,441 | 5.6 mi | 49.3 | 26% | 24% |
| Petworth | 2,592 | 6.7 mi | 49.2 | 30% | 22% |
| Tangmere | 4,000 | 6.9 mi | 37.9 | 18% | 31% |
| Fernhurst | 1,830 | 7 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 27% |
| Westhampnett | 1,238 | 7 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 34% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “West Sussex’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in West Sussex (or England), summed the same way as Cocking’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 Cocking’s residents
What is the population of Cocking?
The 2021 Census counted 473 people in Cocking’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Cocking?
The median age was 50.1 at the 2021 Census. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cocking?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across West Sussex’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cocking?
42% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Cocking good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cocking’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.