Photo: Mайкл Гиммельфарб (Mike Gimelfarb) · Public domainHalf of Westminster is under 35.9, younger than 94% of UK towns
Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 32% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here. Westminster is home to 203,571 residents in 94,495 households, by the 2021 Census. Here, nearly a fifth of households have dependent children. More households without a car or van than in 99% of UK towns: 66%.
What the Census says about Westminster’s people
A student borough
The 2021 Census counted 22,930 full-time students aged 16 and over, 13% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 98% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 15% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than most towns
56% of residents were born outside the UK, against 41% across London and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (18%) and in the Middle East and Asia (17%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
72% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 99% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (27%), Arab (7.6%) and Mixed or multiple (6.5%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A borough people move to
20% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns, and 1.1% 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.
−4% since 2011, a pace below 96% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Westminster’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 219,600 people in 2011; 210,000 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 45 to 64 changed most (+13%) and 30 to 44 least (−21%).
Residents aged 65 and over: 12%, a lower share than 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 25–29: just over one in ten residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are common here: 15%, more than in 96% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Westminster, 35.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More students than 98% of UK towns: 13% of adults in Westminster
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%.
Leave the students aside and Westminster’s other adults differ from England’s: 51% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year account for 20%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
43% of households are one person living alone, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against London and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
At 2.1 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Against that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. On the census count, nearly one in ten households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Westminster: 90% of households live in a flat or apartment, above 99% 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
Where just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, Westminster has 1.1%. In Westminster, 7.2% of households live in a terraced house. The benchmark for households in flats across England’s towns: 23%.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 99% of UK towns, at 56%
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 65%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Of residents born abroad, 31% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. In Westminster, nearly three quarters of residents have English as their main language. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 99% of UK towns: 28%
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: 28% of Westminster · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Westminster comes in at 26%. Add to that, residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in 96% of UK towns. For comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (27%), Arab (7.6%) and Mixed or multiple (6.5%).
In Westminster, 54% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 99% of UK towns
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
Students and young renters account for much of that. In Westminster, 6.9% of residents give unpaid care.
Qualified to degree level: 58% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 58% of its adults qualified to degree level, Westminster compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 13% hold no qualification (18%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 12%.
From a median age of 34 in Church Street to 39 in Little Venice
The borough’s 24 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Little Venice is the oldest area, with 13% aged 65 or over; Church Street the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Westbourne (30% of households).
Ranked by age, 13th youngest of 42 UK towns this size
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 Cambridge (31.9), the youngest, and Blackpool (44), the oldest. Nearest to Westminster in age: Reading (35.7), Peterborough (35.9), Haringey (36.2) and Milton Keynes (36.7).
2 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Westminster
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster | 203,571 | — | 35.9 | 12% | 19% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 143,348 | 1.4 mi | 39.1 | 14% | 20% |
| Camden | 209,342 | 1.9 mi | 34.6 | 12% | 23% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 182,187 | 2.6 mi | 34.2 | 10% | 23% |
| City of London | 7,820 | 3.4 mi | 37.3 | 14% | 8.7% |
| Islington | 216,309 | 3.4 mi | 33.5 | 9.4% | 22% |
| Wandsworth | 326,725 | 4.4 mi | 33.6 | 9.5% | 25% |
| Lambeth | 317,108 | 4.7 mi | 33.6 | 8.6% | 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.
- “London” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in London (or England), summed the same way as Westminster’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. Westminster’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 204,251 people in 2021, against 203,571 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 Westminster’s residents
What is the population of Westminster?
The 2021 Census counted 203,571 people in Westminster’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 210,000 people in mid-2024, 4% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Westminster?
The median age was 35.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 15% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
Is Westminster a student borough?
Yes: 13% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (22,930 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Westminster?
28% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 56% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Westminster?
26% said they had no religion and 37% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 20% were Muslim and 9.4% didn’t answer.
Is Westminster good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Westbourne (30% of households). Schools are on Westminster’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.