Photo: John S Turner · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of households in flats than 93% of UK towns, at 2.9%
Here one in ten households live in a terraced house, where the figure across Wales’s towns is 29%. On residents aged 65 and over, Broughton sits lower than three quarters of UK towns: 18%. The town is home to 6,532 residents in 2,786 households, by the 2021 Census. The share of one-person households stands at 27%.
A +10% change since 2011: Broughton grew faster than 62% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Broughton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 6,000 people in 2011; 6,600 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+35%) and the 16 to 29 least (−6%). No year added more people than mid-2015 to mid-2016: 180.
Younger than 77% of UK towns: half of Broughton is under 40.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 30–34: 7.9% of residents. 9.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a lower share than in 71% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Broughton, 40.6. 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 Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Below 93% of UK towns: 6.4% 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%.
Where 8% of adults are full-time students across Wales’s towns, Broughton has 5.1%. The usual figure: nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Wales’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Broughton sits above 76% of UK towns for households with dependent children (30%)
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Clwyd’s towns and Wales’s towns
People per household
Wales’s towns.
The figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 2% in Broughton and 3.1% across Wales’s towns. As a reference point, 27% of households have dependent children across Wales’s towns. On average, 2.3 people share a household.
Only 11% of households in Broughton have no car or van
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
30% of households live in a detached house, a higher share than in 52% of UK towns. As a reference point, 21% of households have no car or van across Wales’s towns.
Below 57% of UK towns: 97% of residents have English as their main language
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 10%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 15% (Wales’s towns: 23%). The usual figure: 96% of residents have English as their main language across Wales’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.7%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). At 6.3%, the share of residents born outside the UK is higher than in half of UK towns.
Welsh is spoken by 7.7% of Broughton’s residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Against 16% across Welsh towns, 7.7% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Welsh here (483 people): fewer than in 92% of Welsh towns. No town in Clwyd beats Llanfairfechan (44%).
A higher share of residents with no religion than 67% of UK towns, at 43%
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: 92% of Broughton · Clwyd’s towns 92% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (3.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and Indian (0.8%). Across the comparison, 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns. At 48%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in nearly three fifths of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 92% here and 90% across Wales’s towns.
A larger share of adults who have never married than 63% of UK towns: 34%
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
166 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. For adults who have never married, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 38%. Few places have as many married adults and civil partners: 49% here, more than in 55% of UK towns. Meanwhile, by its share of unpaid carers (9%), Broughton is below nearly three fifths of UK towns.
32% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
32% of Broughton’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 31% across Wales’s towns; 14% have none (20%).
Of 473 UK towns its size (5,000 to 9,000 people), the 85th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Red Lodge (30.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Broughton in age: London Colney (40.5), Hoo St Werburgh (40.5), Wendover (40.7) and Ushaw Moor and Bearpark (40.8).
Older than Broughton: 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broughton | 6,532 | — | 40.6 | 18% | 30% |
| Higher Kinnerton | 1,731 | 1.5 mi | 48.2 | 24% | 30% |
| Hawarden | 14,284 | 2.4 mi | 46.8 | 23% | 26% |
| Penyffordd | 3,822 | 2.5 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 33% |
| Aston | 2,847 | 3.1 mi | 48.6 | 27% | 27% |
| Garden City | 2,427 | 3.6 mi | 34.9 | 11% | 33% |
| Shotton | 6,500 | 3.7 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 27% |
| Buckley | 13,562 | 3.7 mi | 43.3 | 20% | 28% |
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.
- “Clwyd’s towns” and “Wales’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Clwyd (or Wales), summed the same way as Broughton’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. Broughton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,532 people in 2021, against 6,532 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 Broughton’s residents
What is the population of Broughton?
The 2021 Census counted 6,532 people in Broughton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,600 people in mid-2024, 10% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Broughton?
The median age was 40.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 77% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Broughton?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 92% across Clwyd’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Broughton?
43% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Broughton good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Broughton’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Broughton?
483 residents aged 3 and over, 7.7%, said they can speak Welsh at the 2021 Census, against 16% across Welsh towns.
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, TS032) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.