Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0Presteigne is older than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 53.5
The share of one-person households is 37%, against 32% across Wales’s towns. Presteigne had 1,929 residents in 922 households at the 2021 Census. Across Presteigne, 20% of households have dependent children. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 95% here, more than in 77% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Presteigne’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Presteigne’s residents are under 53.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 32% 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).
More residents aged 65 and over than 94% of UK towns: 32%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (8.6%), Presteigne is below 83% of UK towns. The usual figure: 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns.
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.
Fewer full-time students than 91% of UK towns: 3.7%
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; Presteigne has 28% and 27%. Residents who moved in within the year: 10% of the total. For full-time students, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 8%.
Presteigne households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 95% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.3% of the total.
38% of households live in a detached house, more than in 72% 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
Just over a fifth of households have no car or van across Wales’s towns, against 13% in Presteigne. Measured more widely, nearly a quarter of households live in a detached house across Wales’s towns. Locally, 12% of households live in a flat or apartment. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 52% of UK towns.
Below 76% of UK towns: 4.2% of residents were 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). Measured more widely, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns. Higher than in nearly three fifths of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language.
Welsh, spoken by 7.3% of Presteigne’s residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
At the 2021 Census, 138 residents aged 3 and over, 7.3%, said they can speak Welsh, against 16% across Welsh towns: fewer than in 94% of Welsh towns. In Powys, Ystradgynlais has the highest share (32%).
Residents with no religion: 44%, a higher share than 70% 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 Presteigne · Powys’ towns 94% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (3.2%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Indian (0.1%). The usual figure: 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in 71% of UK towns.
29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 71% 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
Presteigne sits close to the norm on unpaid carers: 10%, about the same as across Wales’s towns. To put it in context, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. Married adults and civil partners: 46% of the total.
Degree-level qualifications: 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
19% of Presteigne’s adults have no qualification (20% across Wales’s towns), and 33% have one at degree level (31%).
Presteigne is younger than 1 of its 4 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presteigne | 1,929 | — | 53.5 | 32% | 20% |
| Kington | 2,423 | 4.7 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 20% |
| Knighton | 2,911 | 5.3 mi | 51.1 | 30% | 19% |
| Weobley | 1,273 | 9.7 mi | 56.2 | 36% | 20% |
| Leominster | 11,206 | 11.3 mi | 44.9 | 25% | 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 Presteigne’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 Presteigne’s residents
What is the population of Presteigne?
The 2021 Census counted 1,929 people in Presteigne’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Presteigne?
The median age was 53.5 at the 2021 Census. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 32% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Presteigne?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 94% across Powys’ towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Presteigne?
44% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 7.9% didn’t answer.
Is Presteigne good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Presteigne’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Presteigne?
138 residents aged 3 and over, 7.3%, 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.