Photo: The Voice of Hassocks · Public domainHalf of Sharpthorne is over 52.1, older than 92% of UK towns
Here 6.3% of households have no car or van, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. The 2021 Census put Sharpthorne’s population at 705, in 301 households. Locally, 3.3% of households live in a flat or apartment. At 22%, the share of households with dependent children is lower than in 88% of UK towns.
Sharpthorne sits below 93% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (8%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
28% of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer full-time students than 96% of UK towns: 3.3%
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 account for 46% of Sharpthorne’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 14%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across Sharpthorne, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
Below 96% of UK towns: 22% of households are one person living alone
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.
A household here has 2.4 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Here, 2.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
62% of households live in a detached house, more than in 97% 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
7.2% of households live in a terraced house; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house.
Sharpthorne: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 77% of UK towns
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.5%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.4%). The benchmark for residents whose main language is English across England’s towns: 90%. Nearly one in ten residents were born outside the UK, more than in 69% of UK towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 95% in Sharpthorne, more than in 72% 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 Sharpthorne · West Sussex’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
40% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. The census found that 53% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Sharpthorne.
More married adults and civil partners than 98% of UK towns: 60%
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
Compared with 8.7% across England’s towns, 7.1% of residents give unpaid care here. By way of comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Adults who have never married: just over a quarter of the total.
36% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Sharpthorne’s adults: 36% with a degree-level qualification and 12% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
No nearby town is as old as Sharpthorne
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharpthorne | 705 | — | 52.1 | 28% | 22% |
| Ardingly | 1,646 | 2.6 mi | 42.1 | 21% | 28% |
| Horsted Keynes | 1,121 | 3 mi | 51.2 | 27% | 25% |
| Crawley Down | 5,775 | 3.4 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 28% |
| Forest Row | 3,881 | 3.6 mi | 48.5 | 25% | 29% |
| Ashurst Wood | 1,508 | 3.8 mi | 45.8 | 24% | 27% |
| East Grinstead | 26,350 | 3.9 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 28% |
| Balcombe | 1,445 | 4.1 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 32% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Sharpthorne’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 Sharpthorne’s residents
What is the population of Sharpthorne?
The 2021 Census counted 705 people in Sharpthorne’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sharpthorne?
The median age was 52.1 at the 2021 Census. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sharpthorne?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across West Sussex’s towns. 8.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sharpthorne?
40% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Sharpthorne good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sharpthorne’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.