Photo: Betty Longbottom · CC BY-SA 2.0Upperthong ranks below 99% of UK towns on one-person households: 19%
60% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. For Upperthong, the census puts households in flats at 2%. At 49%, the share of households in detached houses is higher than in 88% of UK towns. There were 464 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 1,094 residents.
What the Census says about Upperthong’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Upperthong’s residents are under 50.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 25% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A median age of 50.6: Upperthong is older than 88% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; in Upperthong, 8.4%. On the census count, a quarter of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 87% of UK towns: 3.9%
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 class, nearly half of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 14% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%. Residents who moved in within the year account for 7.4%.
Larger households than 76% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average
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.
Households with dependent children make up 26%, against 29% across England’s towns. In Upperthong, 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
8.2% of households have no car or van, below 91% 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
16% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English: 100%, a higher share than 99% 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
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK in Upperthong comes in at 3.6%. The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.7%) or in Africa (0.9%).
In Upperthong, 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 Upperthong · West Yorkshire’s towns 71% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 37% across England’s towns, 43% of residents said they have no religion here. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as Christian: 50% here, more than in 53% of UK towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns is 73%. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Mixed or multiple (1.9%), Other White (1.6%) and African (0.3%).
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 95% of UK towns: 24%
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
Set against 8.7% across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care in Upperthong. As a reference point, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 17.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 47% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 47% of adults in Upperthong (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 9% (England’s towns: 18%).
Upperthong is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upperthong | 1,094 | — | 50.6 | 25% | 26% |
| Holmfirth | 4,982 | 0.7 mi | 46.8 | 21% | 28% |
| Holmbridge | 1,219 | 0.9 mi | 48.4 | 21% | 24% |
| Scholes (near Hade Edge) | 1,888 | 1.9 mi | 49.5 | 25% | 26% |
| Honley | 14,399 | 2.2 mi | 47.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Meltham | 8,325 | 2.4 mi | 45.2 | 23% | 28% |
| Netherton (Kirklees) | 3,151 | 3.1 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 23% |
| Shepley | 2,515 | 4 mi | 46.4 | 25% | 29% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Upperthong’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 Upperthong’s residents
What is the population of Upperthong?
The 2021 Census counted 1,094 people in Upperthong’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Upperthong?
The median age was 50.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Upperthong?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 71% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 3.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Upperthong?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Upperthong good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Upperthong’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.