Photo: Jon Farman · Public domainThornton sits above 94% of UK towns for households in terraced houses (39%)
18% of households live in a detached house; across England’s towns the figure is 21%. Here, just over a third of households are one person living alone. On residents who describe themselves as White British, Thornton sits lower than 75% of UK towns: 87%. This West Yorkshire town is home to 5,410 residents in 2,420 households, by the 2021 Census.
Thornton is younger than 60% of UK towns: a median age of 43.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.9% of residents. Few places have so few residents aged 65 and over: 20% here, fewer than in two thirds of UK towns. In Addingham, the oldest of West Yorkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 38%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Thornton, 43.2. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Full-time students make up 5.6% in Thornton, more than in 77% 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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.6% in Thornton, less than in 88% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against West Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Families with dependent children are 28% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 14% are someone 66 or over living alone (West Yorkshire’s towns 12%). Each household has 2.2 people on average. Shared households of unrelated adults make up 4.3% across England’s towns.
Thornton sits above 79% of UK towns for households without a car or van (22%)
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
Here, just over one in ten households live in a flat or apartment. Every 5th household or so has no car or van.
Below 62% of UK towns: 5.2% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
97% of residents have English as their main language; across England’s towns the figure is 90%. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.8%). The share of residents born outside the UK across England’s towns is 18%.
Residents with no religion: 42%, a higher share than 54% 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: 87% of Thornton · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Pakistani (4.7%), Mixed or multiple (3.2%) and Other White (2.2%). 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 75% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Thornton: 37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, above 75% 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
The figure for married adults and civil partners is 43% in Thornton and 44% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 154. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 9.8% here, more than in 61% of UK towns. To put it in context, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Thornton counts 27% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 19% have no qualification (18%).
Of 516 UK towns its size (4,000 to 7,000 people), the 154th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Thornton in age: Stokenchurch (43.1), Bagshot (43.1), Elmswell (43.2) and Saxmundham (43.2).
Older than Thornton: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton | 5,410 | — | 43.2 | 20% | 28% |
| Queensbury | 9,707 | 1.8 mi | 41.3 | 17% | 30% |
| Wilsden | 3,749 | 2.1 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 25% |
| Denholme | 2,960 | 2.1 mi | 40.7 | 17% | 29% |
| Cullingworth | 3,096 | 3 mi | 45 | 23% | 28% |
| Shelf and Northowram | 9,191 | 3.3 mi | 48.7 | 24% | 25% |
| Bradford | 333,968 | 3.6 mi | 33 | 12% | 39% |
| Harden | 1,602 | 3.6 mi | 53 | 29% | 22% |
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 Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in West Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Thornton’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 Thornton’s residents
What is the population of Thornton?
The 2021 Census counted 5,410 people in Thornton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Thornton?
The median age was 43.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 60% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thornton?
87% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thornton?
42% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 5.9% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Thornton good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thornton’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.