Photo: Christopher Hilton · CC BY-SA 2.0In Chirk, 96% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 92% of UK towns
Across Wales’s towns, 29% of households live in a terraced house; in Chirk, 16%. The 2021 Census counted 3,930 residents in 1,723 households. Nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 10% here, more than in 78% of UK towns.
Chirk is older than 56% of UK towns: a median age of 45.3
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 7.7% of residents. At 22%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is higher than in 55% of UK towns. In Penrhyn Bay, the oldest of Clwyd’s towns by this measure, it is 34%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Chirk, 45.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Chirk ranks below 97% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 6%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 25% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 34% (Wales’s towns: 29% and 27%). For comparison, 9.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Wales’s towns. Full-time students account for 5%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 59% of UK towns: 2.3 people on average
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2%, against 3.1% across Wales’s towns. For Chirk, the census puts one-person households at 32%. On households with dependent children, Chirk sits higher than 56% of UK towns: 28%.
In Chirk, 27% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 56% 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
The share of households without a car or van is 16%, against 21% across Wales’s towns. Households in detached houses: 24% across Wales’s towns, for comparison.
3% born outside the UK, fewer than in 91% 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 10%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.6%) or in Africa (0.4%). To put it in context, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns. At 98%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in 67% of UK towns. 23% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 23% across Wales’s towns.
Welsh in Chirk: 8.9% of residents speak it
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
At the 2021 Census, 342 residents aged 3 and over, 8.9%, said they can speak Welsh, against 16% across Welsh towns: fewer than in 80% of Welsh towns. Within Clwyd, Llanfairfechan has the largest share, 44%.
Above 56% of UK towns: 51% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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: 96% of Chirk · Clwyd’s towns 92% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (1.7%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Indian (0.2%). 41% of residents said they have no religion, a higher share than in 51% of UK towns. Against that, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Wales’s towns.
Chirk ranks above 58% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 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
For 138 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Elsewhere, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. 43% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a lower share than in 78% of UK towns.
24% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 24% of its adults qualified to degree level, Chirk compares with 31% across Wales’s towns; another 23% hold no qualification (20%).
207th youngest of 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people
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 Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Chirk in age: Cranbrook (45.3), Chickerell (45.3), Langley Park (45.4) and Esh Winning (45.4).
Chirk sits below 3 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chirk | 3,930 | — | 45.3 | 22% | 28% |
| Weston Rhyn | 1,381 | 1.7 mi | 44 | 23% | 25% |
| St Martins | 2,692 | 2.3 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 26% |
| Acrefair and Cefn-mawr | 6,905 | 2.6 mi | 39.3 | 19% | 33% |
| Trevor | 1,397 | 3 mi | 47.1 | 22% | 27% |
| Gobowen | 3,046 | 3.2 mi | 45.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Ruabon | 3,414 | 3.5 mi | 42.1 | 19% | 30% |
| Rhosllannerchrugog | 12,789 | 4.7 mi | 41.5 | 20% | 29% |
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 Chirk’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 Chirk’s residents
What is the population of Chirk?
The 2021 Census counted 3,930 people in Chirk’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Chirk?
The median age was 45.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 56% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Chirk?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 92% across Clwyd’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Chirk?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Chirk good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Chirk’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Chirk?
342 residents aged 3 and over, 8.9%, 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). 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.