Photo: Penny Mayes · CC BY-SA 2.038% of households are one person living alone, more than in 95% of UK towns
Households in terraced houses: 35% here and 29% across Wales’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 10,882 people lived in Newtown, in 4,960 households. The census found that 50% of residents said they have no religion here. 39% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a lower share than in 93% of UK towns.
Newtown changed by +1% from 2011 to 2024, behind 79% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Newtown’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 11,400 people in 2011; 11,500 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+31%) and 0 to 15 least (−13%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2016 to mid-2017: 100 people.
Newtown is younger than 73% of UK towns: a median age of 41.4
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 6.8% of residents. More residents aged 15 to 24 than in 91% of UK towns: 12%. In Knighton, the oldest of Powys’ towns by this measure, it is 30%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Newtown, 41.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Above 71% of UK towns: 5.4% of adults are full-time students
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, 29% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine or semi-routine work; Newtown has 24% and 36%. For full-time students, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 8%. Residents who moved in within the year: a tenth of the total.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 83% of UK towns
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.
Set against 27% across Wales’s towns, 26% of households have dependent children in Newtown. Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.5% of the total.
26% of households have no car or van, a share 89% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Households in detached houses are about as common here as across Wales’s towns, at 24%. Set beside that, 21% of households have no car or van across Wales’s towns. The census found that 17% of households live in a flat or apartment in Newtown.
7% born outside the UK
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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (4.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are scarce here: 96%, fewer than in three quarters of UK towns. Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 19% of that group, against 23% across Wales’s towns.
12% of people in Newtown speak Welsh
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Against 16% across Welsh towns, 12% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Welsh here (1,278 people): more than in 54% of Welsh towns. Top of Powys: Ystradgynlais, at 32%.
Newtown sits below 91% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (41%)
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: 92% of Newtown · Powys’ towns 94% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Islam is the religion of 1% of residents. Residents who describe themselves as White British are rarer here than in 52% of UK towns. Across Wales’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 43%.
39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 86% 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 393. As a reference point, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. 11% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 82% of UK towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 24%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Newtown counts 24% of its adults, against 31% across Wales’s towns; at the other end, 22% have no qualification (20%).
Among 397 UK towns of 8,000 to 15,000 people, the 93rd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 60.4 in Sidmouth. Nearest to Newtown in age: Shepton Mallet (41.4), Cullompton (41.4), Bargod (41.4) and Sarn (41.4).
The places around Newtown
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newtown | 10,882 | — | 41.4 | 21% | 26% |
| Llanidloes | 2,197 | 10.2 mi | 50.7 | 29% | 19% |
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 Newtown’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. Newtown’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,362 people in 2021, against 10,882 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 Newtown’s residents
What is the population of Newtown?
The 2021 Census counted 10,882 people in Newtown’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 11,500 people in mid-2024, 1% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Newtown?
The median age was 41.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 73% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Newtown?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 94% across Powys’ towns. 7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Newtown?
50% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 6.7% didn’t answer.
Is Newtown good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Newtown’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Newtown?
1,278 residents aged 3 and over, 12%, 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.