Photo: Antiquary · CC BY 3.0In Upper Beeding, 7.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 94% of UK towns
The share of households without a car or van trails 81% of UK towns: 10%. Upper Beeding had 3,100 residents in 1,331 households at the 2021 Census. The census found that 29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. At 25%, the share of households with dependent children is lower than in 72% of UK towns.
A median age of 49: Upper Beeding is older than 80% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 27%, above 82% of UK towns. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.5% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Upper Beeding, 49. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
Below 89% of UK towns: 6.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Upper Beeding has 37% and 20%. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 11% across England’s towns. For Upper Beeding, the census puts full-time students at 4.2%.
2.3 people per household, more than in 57% of UK towns
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.5%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. One-person households account for 30%.
A higher share of households in terraced houses than 69% of UK towns, at 25%
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 detached houses make up 27%, against 21% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households in terraced houses across England’s towns: 24%. The census found that just over one in ten households live in a flat or apartment in Upper Beeding.
98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 65% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Arrivals from 2017 on account for 16% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English: 90% across England’s towns, for comparison. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%).
Upper Beeding: 45% of residents said they have no religion, above 76% 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: 93% of Upper Beeding · West Sussex’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Indian (0.5%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 47%, fewer than in 70% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. 93% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 84% across West Sussex’s towns and 73% across England’s towns.
A higher share of unpaid carers than 80% of UK towns, at 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 74 residents. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 64% of UK towns. Set beside that, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
31% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 31% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 16% hold no qualification (18%).
Among 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people, the 172nd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Keele is the youngest (20.6); West Chiltington the oldest (63.1). Nearest to Upper Beeding in age: Downton (48.9), Stalham (49), Laceby (49.1) and Christleton and Waverton (49.1).
Older than Upper Beeding: 3 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Beeding | 3,100 | — | 49 | 27% | 25% |
| Steyning | 5,513 | 1.1 mi | 53.7 | 33% | 21% |
| Henfield | 5,630 | 3.6 mi | 50 | 29% | 25% |
| Shoreham-by-Sea | 23,659 | 3.7 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Lancing and Sompting | 27,924 | 3.9 mi | 46.7 | 25% | 25% |
| Southwick | 12,242 | 4.4 mi | 43.3 | 20% | 31% |
| Findon | 1,840 | 4.7 mi | 57.9 | 37% | 18% |
| Ashington | 2,688 | 5.2 mi | 47.9 | 23% | 29% |
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 Upper Beeding’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 Upper Beeding’s residents
What is the population of Upper Beeding?
The 2021 Census counted 3,100 people in Upper Beeding’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Upper Beeding?
The median age was 49 at the 2021 Census, older than 80% of UK towns. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Upper Beeding?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across West Sussex’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Upper Beeding?
45% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Upper Beeding good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Upper Beeding’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.