Photo: Benjaminevans82 · Public domainIn Wadebridge, 21% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 91% of UK towns
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 96%, above 83% of UK towns. Across Wadebridge, 37% of households are one person living alone. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 8.8% here, fewer than in four fifths of UK towns. The town is home to 5,626 residents in 2,663 households, by the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Wadebridge’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Wadebridge at 5,300 in 2011 and 5,200 in 2024, down 2%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 92% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Wadebridge’s residents are under 50.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
−2% since 2011: slower than 92% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wadebridge’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,300 people in 2011; 5,200 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+13%) and weakest among the 0 to 15 (−21%).
Half of Wadebridge is over 50.4, older than 87% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
30% of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.6% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wadebridge, 50.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Full-time students make up 4.2% in Wadebridge, less than in 78% of UK towns
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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Wadebridge, 31% and 26%. Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 59% of UK towns. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cornwall’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Here, 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
A higher share of households in flats than 86% of UK towns, at 21%
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 make up 23%, against 24% across England’s towns. 35% of households live in a detached house. Wadebridge has more households without a car or van than 55% of UK towns, at 16%.
Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Wadebridge, more than in 83% 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 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK in Wadebridge comes in at 4.3%. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.8%) and in Africa (0.8%). By way of comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Above 70% of UK towns: 44% 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: 96% of Wadebridge · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (2.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Indian (0.2%). Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Wadebridge has fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than three fifths of UK towns, at 48%.
Wadebridge ranks below 72% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 29%
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 163 residents. 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a lower share than in 59% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers: 9.8% here and 8.7% across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 31% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 31% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 16% hold no qualification (18%).
104th highest median age among 624 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000
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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Wadebridge in age: Llantwit Major (50.3), Southwell (50.4), St Ives (50.4) and Saxilby (50.5).
Older than Wadebridge: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wadebridge | 5,626 | — | 50.4 | 30% | 21% |
| Egloshayle | 1,185 | 0.5 mi | 45 | 25% | 30% |
| Rock | 1,156 | 3.8 mi | 53.9 | 36% | 20% |
| Padstow | 2,351 | 5.1 mi | 49.3 | 28% | 21% |
| Bodmin | 16,904 | 5.9 mi | 41.3 | 20% | 28% |
| St Merryn | 1,344 | 6.7 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 28% |
| Roche | 2,311 | 7.3 mi | 43 | 21% | 28% |
| St Columb Major | 3,663 | 7.6 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 28% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Cornwall’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cornwall (or England), summed the same way as Wadebridge’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. Wadebridge’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,297 people in 2021, against 5,626 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 Wadebridge’s residents
What is the population of Wadebridge?
The 2021 Census counted 5,626 people in Wadebridge’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,200 people in mid-2024, 2% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wadebridge?
The median age was 50.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 87% of UK towns. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wadebridge?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wadebridge?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Wadebridge good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wadebridge’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. 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.