Photo: anne newcombe · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Churchstoke is over 51.5, older than 91% of UK towns
Detached houses are home to 52% of households, against 24% across Wales’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 756 people lived in Churchstoke, in 317 households. Households in flats account for 6%. 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, a higher share than in 77% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over: 31%, a higher share than 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents. As a yardstick, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns. 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a higher share than in 76% of UK towns. In Knighton, the oldest of Powys’ towns by this measure, it is 30%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 81 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 16% in Churchstoke, more than in 97% 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%.
Full-time students make up 5.2%, against 8% across Wales’s towns. Across the comparison, nearly one in ten 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.
Below 90% of UK towns: 1.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Powys’ towns and Wales’s towns
People per household
Wales’s towns.
With households with dependent children at 26%, Churchstoke is behind 66% of UK towns on that count. More one-person households than in 60% of UK towns: 31%. Across Wales’s towns, shared households of unrelated adults come to 3.1%. The average household has 2.3 people.
Fewer car-free households than 86% of UK towns: 9.2%
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
The share of households in terraced houses trails just over three quarters of UK towns: 14%. Every 11th household or so has no car or van.
Churchstoke sits below 71% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (4.5%)
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%). Measured more widely, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns. Residents whose main language is English: 98% here and 96% across Wales’s towns.
Churchstoke’s residents: 6.4% speak Welsh
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
At the 2021 Census, 47 residents aged 3 and over, 6.4%, said they can speak Welsh, against 16% across Welsh towns: fewer than in 98% of Welsh towns. The highest share in Powys belongs to Ystradgynlais (32%).
34% said they have no religion, fewer than in 86% 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: 95% of Churchstoke · Powys’ towns 94% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
43% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Wales’s towns, against 51% in Churchstoke. To put it in context, 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and African (0.1%).
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 71% of UK towns: 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
24 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Adults who have never married make up 38% across Wales’s towns. Set against 43% across Wales’s towns, 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Churchstoke.
25% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 25% of adults in Churchstoke (Wales’s towns: 31%), and no qualification by 20% (Wales’s towns: 20%).
Median age: 4 of the 7 towns around Churchstoke are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Churchstoke | 756 | — | 51.5 | 31% | 26% |
| Bishop's Castle | 1,847 | 4.5 mi | 53.7 | 32% | 20% |
| Welshpool | 5,460 | 9 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 23% |
| Minsterley | 1,719 | 9.2 mi | 43.6 | 21% | 28% |
| Pontesbury | 1,968 | 10.6 mi | 53.2 | 34% | 22% |
| Newtown | 10,882 | 10.7 mi | 41.4 | 21% | 26% |
| Church Stretton | 3,576 | 11.2 mi | 61.1 | 43% | 15% |
| Guilsfield | 1,160 | 11.4 mi | 54.6 | 35% | 20% |
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.
- “Powys’ towns” and “Wales’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Powys (or Wales), summed the same way as Churchstoke’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 Churchstoke’s residents
What is the population of Churchstoke?
The 2021 Census counted 756 people in Churchstoke’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Churchstoke?
The median age was 51.5 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Churchstoke?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 94% across Powys’ towns. 4.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Churchstoke?
34% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 14% didn’t answer.
Is Churchstoke good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Churchstoke’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Churchstoke?
47 residents aged 3 and over, 6.4%, 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.