Photo: John H Darch · CC BY-SA 2.0Families with children: 38% of households, more than in 97% of UK towns
The figure for households in detached houses is 58% in Penley and 24% across Wales’s towns. Census day 2021: 733 residents and 290 households in the village. 96% of residents describe themselves as White British. With a median age of 39.1, Penley is younger than 85% of UK towns.
In Penley, 13% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 12% across Wales’s towns, 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Penley. Typically, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Penley ranks below 95% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 6.3%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 36% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 23% (Wales’s towns: 29% and 27%). More full-time students than in 87% of UK towns: 6.3%. To put it in context, 9.1% of 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.
Penley households average 2.5 people, larger than in 87% of UK towns
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.
Nothing unusual on shared households of unrelated adults: 2.8%, close to the figure across Wales’s towns. Locally, just over a quarter of households are one person living alone.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 81% of UK towns, at 10%
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
Households in terraced houses: 22% here and 29% across Wales’s towns. The share of households without a car or van across Wales’s towns is 21%. One in ten households live in a flat or apartment.
3.4% born outside the UK, fewer than in 86% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Where 96% of residents have English as their main language across Wales’s towns, Penley has 99%. Elsewhere, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%).
9.9% of Penley’s residents say they can speak Welsh
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Against 16% across Welsh towns, 9.9% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Welsh here (71 people): fewer than in 69% of Welsh towns. Within Clwyd, Llanfairfechan has the largest share, 44%.
Penley ranks above 61% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 51%
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 Penley · Clwyd’s towns 92% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
42% of residents said they have no religion; across Wales’s towns the figure is 47%. Across Wales’s towns, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
49% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 56% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 14 people. Lower than in 52% of UK towns: 32% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Typically, 43% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 9.5%, close to the figure across Wales’s towns.
37% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
14% of Penley’s adults have no qualification (20% across Wales’s towns), and 37% have one at degree level (31%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 17%.
Nearby, 6 of 7 towns have older populations than Penley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penley | 733 | — | 39.1 | 13% | 38% |
| Ellesmere | 4,268 | 3.5 mi | 49.4 | 29% | 23% |
| Pentre Maelor | 1,814 | 6 mi | 34.4 | 3.4% | 35% |
| Marchwiel | 1,038 | 6.1 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 28% |
| St Martins | 2,692 | 6.1 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 26% |
| Malpas | 1,361 | 6.2 mi | 51.3 | 32% | 20% |
| Ruabon | 3,414 | 7.4 mi | 42.1 | 19% | 30% |
| Whitchurch | 9,856 | 7.7 mi | 47 | 24% | 24% |
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 Penley’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 Penley’s residents
What is the population of Penley?
The 2021 Census counted 733 people in Penley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Penley?
The median age was 39.1 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 13% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Penley?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 92% across Clwyd’s towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Penley?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Penley good for families?
38% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Penley’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Penley?
71 residents aged 3 and over, 9.9%, 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.