Photo: Gordon Cragg · CC BY-SA 2.0Households without a car or van: 4.5%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
Compared with 14% across Wales’s towns, 0.9% of households live in a flat or apartment here. Forden had 787 residents in 340 households at the 2021 Census. Here, 98% of residents describe themselves as White British. More married adults and civil partners than in 88% of UK towns: 55%.
A median age of 47.1: Forden is older than 69% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here 24% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure across Wales’s towns is 21%. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 8.1% of residents.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
In Forden, 4.2% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 75% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in a third of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 21% (Wales’s towns: 29% and 27%). Across Wales’s towns, the share of full-time students is 8%. The census found that 8.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Forden.
Only 27% of households are one person living alone in Forden
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.
At 2.3 people, the average household compares with 2.3 across Wales’s towns. Here, 29% of households have dependent children. Few places have as many shared households of unrelated adults: 2.7% here, more than in 64% of UK towns. The wider picture: 32% of households are one person living alone across Wales’s towns.
A higher share of households in detached houses than 99% of UK towns, at 71%
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
Across Wales’s towns, 29% of households live in a terraced house; in Forden, 13%. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households live in a detached house across Wales’s towns.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 99% of UK towns: 1.7%
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%). Across Wales’s towns, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK. 100% of residents have English as their main language, against 96% across Wales’s towns.
Welsh speakers make up 11% of Forden
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
At the 2021 Census, 83 residents aged 3 and over, 11%, said they can speak Welsh, against 16% across Welsh towns: fewer than in 58% of Welsh towns. Top of Powys: Ystradgynlais, at 32%.
Forden: 42% of residents said they have no religion, above 58% 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 Forden · Powys’ towns 94% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
In Forden, 49% of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 43% across Wales’s towns. Against that, 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns.
In Forden, 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 67% 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
24 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Elsewhere, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. Forden has more unpaid carers than 85% of UK towns, at 11%.
37% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 31% across Wales’s towns, 37% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 12% hold no qualification (20%).
Nearby, 4 of 7 towns have older populations than Forden
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forden | 787 | — | 47.1 | 24% | 29% |
| Welshpool | 5,460 | 3.3 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 23% |
| Guilsfield | 1,160 | 5.8 mi | 54.6 | 35% | 20% |
| Minsterley | 1,719 | 8.5 mi | 43.6 | 21% | 28% |
| Pontesbury | 1,968 | 10 mi | 53.2 | 34% | 22% |
| Bishop's Castle | 1,847 | 10 mi | 53.7 | 32% | 20% |
| Four Crosses | 1,469 | 10.2 mi | 49.2 | 26% | 24% |
| Newtown | 10,882 | 11 mi | 41.4 | 21% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Forden’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 Forden’s residents
What is the population of Forden?
The 2021 Census counted 787 people in Forden’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Forden?
The median age was 47.1 at the 2021 Census. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Forden?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 94% across Powys’ towns. 1.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Forden?
42% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8% didn’t answer.
Is Forden good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Forden’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Forden?
83 residents aged 3 and over, 11%, 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.