Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of households with dependent children than 96% of UK towns, at 19%
In Knighton the average household is 2.1 people, beside 2.3 across Wales’s towns. By contrast, residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in 85% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 2,911 people lived locally, in 1,384 households. On the census count, 38% of households live in a detached house.
What the Census says about Knighton’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Knighton at 3,000 in 2011 and 2,900 in 2024, down 4%, against 4% for Wales: slower growth than in 95% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Knighton’s residents are under 51.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 21% across Wales’s towns. Ages ↓
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.
Knighton changed by −4% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 95% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Knighton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,000 people in 2011; 2,900 in 2024.
Change by age ran from +26% for the 65 and over to −16% for the 0 to 15.
A median age of 51.1: Knighton is older than 90% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 10% in Knighton and 12% across Wales’s towns. On the census count, 30% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Knighton, 51.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 75% of UK towns: 7.5%
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%.
Across Wales’s towns, 8% of adults are full-time students; in Knighton, 4.8%. The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across Wales’s towns: 9.1%.
More people live alone than in 94% of UK towns: 37% of households
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.
Compared with 3.1% across Wales’s towns, 2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. The share of one-person households across Wales’s towns is 32%.
Households in terraced houses make up 22% in Knighton, more than in 55% 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
On the census count, just over one in ten households live in a flat or apartment. Households without a car or van are more common here than in 52% of UK towns.
3.7% born outside the UK, fewer than in 81% 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 10%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.9%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.9%). Across Wales’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 7.4%. Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 99% here, more than in 84% of UK towns. Where nearly a quarter of those born abroad across Wales’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 9.8%.
Welsh in Knighton: 6.6% of residents speak it
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Some 187 people here aged 3 and over said in 2021 that they can speak Welsh, 6.6% of the total, against 16% across Welsh towns: fewer than in 98% of them. Within Powys, Ystradgynlais has the largest share, 32%.
Above 72% of UK towns: 44% of residents said they have no religion
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: 96% of Knighton · Powys’ towns 94% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Christians make up 48% of residents, against 43% across Wales’s towns. By way of comparison, 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Indian (0.1%).
In Knighton, 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 60% 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
Compared with 43% across Wales’s towns, 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here. As a yardstick, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. The share of unpaid carers stands at 10%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 26% of Knighton’s adults, against 31% across Wales’s towns; 20% have no qualification (20%).
89th highest median age among 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 20.6 in Keele to 63.1 in West Chiltington. Nearest to Knighton in age: Newick (51.1), East Saltdean (51.1), East Ayton and West Ayton (51.2) and Buckden (51.2).
Knighton sits below 2 of its 4 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knighton | 2,911 | — | 51.1 | 30% | 19% |
| Presteigne | 1,929 | 5.3 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 20% |
| Kington | 2,423 | 9.6 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 20% |
| Bishop's Castle | 1,847 | 10.5 mi | 53.7 | 32% | 20% |
| Craven Arms | 2,563 | 11.2 mi | 45.4 | 24% | 25% |
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 Knighton’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. Knighton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,911 people in 2021, against 2,911 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 Knighton’s residents
What is the population of Knighton?
The 2021 Census counted 2,911 people in Knighton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 2,900 people in mid-2024, 4% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Knighton?
The median age was 51.1 at the 2021 Census, older than 90% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Knighton?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 94% across Powys’ towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Knighton?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is Knighton good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Knighton’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Knighton?
187 residents aged 3 and over, 6.6%, 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) · 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.