Photo: Pauline Eccles · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in flats: 1.3%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 98%, against 73% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are common here: 59%, more than in 95% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 948 people lived in Milkwall, in 402 households. On the census count, a quarter of households are one person living alone.
A median age of 50.1: Milkwall is older than 85% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 (England’s towns: 12%). The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 27%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 3.2% of adults are full-time students in Milkwall
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%.
6.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Households with dependent children make up 25% in Milkwall, less than in 75% 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.
Households in Milkwall hold 2.4 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). The comparison figure for households with dependent children is 29% across England’s towns. Here, 2.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Fewer households in terraced houses than 98% of UK towns: 5.3%
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
With households without a car or van at 8.5%, Milkwall is behind 89% of UK towns on that count. Typically, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
2.4% of residents were born outside the UK, below 97% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns, nine in ten residents have English as their main language; in Milkwall, 100%. Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.2%) and in Africa (0.7%).
In Milkwall, 54% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 76% of UK towns
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: 98% of Milkwall · Gloucestershire’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion; in Milkwall, 39%. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns is 46%.
Milkwall sits above 82% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (53%)
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 carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 28. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are scarce here: 27%, fewer than in 82% of UK towns. On unpaid carers, 9.4% here is much the same as across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 27% of its adults qualified to degree level, Milkwall compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 19% hold no qualification (18%).
A younger town than 3 of the 7 around it: Milkwall
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milkwall | 948 | — | 50.1 | 27% | 25% |
| Coleford | 5,023 | 1.1 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 22% |
| Broadwell and Coalway | 3,304 | 1.2 mi | 47.1 | 24% | 26% |
| Berry Hill | 2,211 | 2.1 mi | 51.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Bream | 3,117 | 2.6 mi | 48.6 | 24% | 26% |
| Yorkley and Whitecroft | 2,678 | 3.4 mi | 51 | 27% | 23% |
| Welsh Bicknor | 1,988 | 4.2 mi | 50.2 | 22% | 25% |
| Ruspidge | 2,431 | 4.6 mi | 45.2 | 21% | 27% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Milkwall’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 Milkwall’s residents
What is the population of Milkwall?
The 2021 Census counted 948 people in Milkwall’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Milkwall?
The median age was 50.1 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Milkwall?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Gloucestershire’s towns. 2.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Milkwall?
39% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Milkwall good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Milkwall’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). 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.