Bream's residents are mostly middle-aged homeowners who have been here a long time. Seven in ten own their home. The typical resident is just under fifty. Hardly anyone is a student. It's a village of people who bought a house, stayed in it and joined the rugby club.
All the population figures here come from the 2021 census, when Bream had 3,117 residents in 1,353 households. About 70% of households owned their home. About 13% rented privately and about 16% rented from a council or housing association. Social renters outnumber private renters, which is unusual for a village this size and a leftover of the council housing built in its mining days.
The typical resident was 49, and only about 20% of residents were aged 25 to 44. Bream has plenty of people at the stage where the mortgage is nearly paid off, and fewer at the stage where it has just started.
The Office for National Statistics models gross household income for the area around Bream at about £51,000 a year before tax, for the financial year to March 2023. That figure covers the surrounding area as well as the village, and it is several years out of date. It's the kind of income that runs a semi with two cars on the drive, but not one that makes extending the house an easy decision.
About 28% of households were one person living alone, and about 15% were a pensioner living alone, a group counted within that 28%. Couples with dependent children made up about 18% of households and lone parents about 10%. More than one in four homes has only one person in it, so a three-bedroom house with a single occupant is a common sight on Bream's streets.
About 25% of residents aged 16 and over held a degree, and about 19% had no formal qualifications. Only about 2% were full-time students. With no college nearby, there's no wave of students arriving each autumn, and the village's busiest weekends are the ones at Bream Sports Club, where the Bream Summer Show and BreamFest are held.
Bream's population is ordinary, mostly homeowning and a little older than average. The village is neither struggling nor especially well off.