Photo: David Wilmot from Wimbledon, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0A lower White British share than 81% of UK towns: 83% of residents
Against a figure of 21% across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in Wilmslow comes in at 39%. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 25,716, in 11,066 households. The census found that 52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in the town. Few places have so few households without a car or van: 12% here, fewer than in 70% of UK towns.
Faster growth than 66% of UK towns: Wilmslow changed by +11% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wilmslow’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 23,700 people in 2011; 26,400 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2020 to mid-2021: 480. By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+30%) and the 30 to 44 group least (+3%).
Wilmslow ranks below 72% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 9.1%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Wilmslow’s residents are under 44.1, younger than in 53% of UK towns. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Across Wilmslow, 20% of residents are 65 or over. In Prestbury, the oldest of Cheshire’s towns by this measure, it is 33%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wilmslow, 44.1. 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.
Wilmslow ranks above 70% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.3%
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%.
In Wilmslow, just over half of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 13% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 12%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.3 people per household, more than in 62% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cheshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.2%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. The share of households with dependent children stands at 29%. Few places have as many one-person households: 30% here, more than in 53% of UK towns.
Wilmslow ranks above 69% of UK towns on households in flats: 15%
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
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house; in Wilmslow, 19%. As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Wilmslow: 12% of residents 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
Residents whose main language is English: 96%, below three quarters of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Below 64% of UK towns: 39% of residents said they have no religion
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: 83% of Wilmslow · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Islam is the religion of 3.1% of residents. 49% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 52% of UK towns. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%.
Adults who have never married: 31%, a lower share than 61% 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
At 8%, the share of unpaid carers is in line with the figure across England’s towns. 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: 491.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 51%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Wilmslow, 51%, and 9.9% have none, against 18%.
From a median age of 37 in Handforth & Dean Row to 48 in Wilmslow Town
The town’s 5 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Wilmslow Town is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Handforth & Dean Row the youngest (median age 37). Families with children are most common in Fulshaw Park & Lindow (34% of households).
Among 260 UK towns of 18,000 to 35,000 people, the 95th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.1 in Egham to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Wilmslow in age: Hindley (44), Droitwich Spa (44), Melton Mowbray (44.1) and Potters Bar (44.1).
A younger town than 4 of the 7 around it: Wilmslow
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmslow | 25,716 | — | 44.1 | 20% | 29% |
| Alderley Edge | 4,496 | 1.7 mi | 50.7 | 29% | 22% |
| Woodford | 2,241 | 3.3 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 36% |
| Cheadle Hulme | 24,782 | 3.4 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 32% |
| Bramhall | 17,201 | 3.9 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 29% |
| Mobberley | 1,349 | 4.2 mi | 44.4 | 23% | 29% |
| Wythenshawe | 97,665 | 4.2 mi | 37.2 | 15% | 33% |
| Gatley | 9,149 | 4.3 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 33% |
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.
- “Cheshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cheshire (or England), summed the same way as Wilmslow’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Wilmslow’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 25,344 people in 2021, against 25,716 in the built-up area.
- 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 Wilmslow’s residents
What is the population of Wilmslow?
The 2021 Census counted 25,716 people in Wilmslow’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 26,400 people in mid-2024, 11% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wilmslow?
The median age was 44.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 53% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wilmslow?
83% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 12% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wilmslow?
39% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.1% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Wilmslow good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Fulshaw Park & Lindow (34% of households). Schools are on Wilmslow’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.