Church of St Peter · Photo: John Lord · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Filton is under 34.3, younger than 97% of UK towns
With households in terraced houses at 33%, Filton is ahead of 87% of UK towns on that count. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 14% in the town. 35% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 98% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Filton was home to 10,955 people in 4,455 households.
What the Census says about Filton’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 1,630 full-time students aged 16 and over, 17% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 21% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Filton’s residents are under 34.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 21% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
16% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns, and 3.6% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
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.
From 2011 to 2024, Filton outgrew 71% of UK towns: +13%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Filton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,600 people in 2011; 12,000 in 2024.
Change by age ran from +44% for the 16 to 29 to −8% for the 65 and over. No year added more people than mid-2022 to mid-2023: 360.
Filton ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 21%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 20–24 than any other five-year age: 15% of residents, 2.5 times the share across England’s towns. Here, 16% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Filton, 34.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 17%
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%.
11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, against 16% in Filton. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children: 23%, a lower share than 85% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Gloucestershire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
In Filton the average household is 2.5 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. Here, 30% of households are one person living alone. To put it in context, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
A lower share of households in detached houses than 98% of UK towns, at 6.3%
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
23% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Higher than in 86% of UK towns: 21% of households live in a flat or apartment.
Filton sits above 93% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (20%)
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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 31% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK. Census figures put residents whose main language is English at 88% in Filton.
Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than 93% of UK towns: 40%
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: 72% of Filton · Gloucestershire’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents with no religion at 45%, Filton is ahead of 78% of UK towns on that count. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 72% of the total. As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Filton sits above 98% of UK towns for adults who have never married (51%)
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 196 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Measured more widely, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 7.2%, fewer than in 95% of UK towns.
34% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Filton’s adults: 34% with a degree-level qualification and 14% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. Many still at university: 23% list A levels as their highest qualification.
Ranked by age, 7th youngest of 397 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Filton in age: Penryn (30.3), Tilbury (32.5), Cambourne (34.5) and Sheerness (34.5).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Filton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filton | 10,955 | — | 34.3 | 16% | 23% |
| Stoke Gifford | 13,477 | 1.3 mi | 27.8 | 9.9% | 28% |
| Patchway | 16,517 | 1.7 mi | 35.1 | 13% | 33% |
| Bradley Stoke | 25,194 | 2 mi | 37.3 | 11% | 33% |
| Bristol | 425,196 | 3.4 mi | 33.9 | 13% | 26% |
| Almondsbury | 2,937 | 3.4 mi | 45.3 | 21% | 33% |
| Kingswood and Fishponds | 160,280 | 3.9 mi | 39.2 | 17% | 29% |
| Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne | 14,969 | 3.9 mi | 47.1 | 25% | 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.
- “Gloucestershire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Gloucestershire (or England), summed the same way as Filton’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. Filton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,288 people in 2021, against 10,955 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 Filton’s residents
What is the population of Filton?
The 2021 Census counted 10,955 people in Filton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,000 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Filton?
The median age was 34.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 97% of UK towns. 21% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
Is Filton a student town?
Yes: 17% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (1,630 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Filton?
72% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Gloucestershire’s towns. 20% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Filton?
45% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.4% were Muslim and 7.8% didn’t answer.
Is Filton good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Filton’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.