Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0Broseley sits below 95% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (7.8%)
73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, against 97% in Broseley. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 37% here, more than in 71% of UK towns. There were 2,456 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 5,596 residents. For Broseley, the census puts households in terraced houses at 16%.
What the Census says about Broseley’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Broseley’s residents are under 50.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 26% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
607 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 92% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
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.
Faster growth than 50% of UK towns: Broseley changed by +8% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Broseley’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,600 people in 2011; 6,000 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+59%) and 16 to 29 least (−18%). No year added more people than mid-2016 to mid-2017: 90.
Half of Broseley is over 50.2, older than 86% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 8.3% of residents. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 78% of UK towns. In Church Stretton, the oldest of Shropshire’s towns by this measure, it is 43%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Broseley, 50.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 3.7% of adults are full-time students in Broseley
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 32% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 27% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year: 5.9% of the total. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households with dependent children make up 25% in Broseley, less than in 76% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Shropshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
2.2% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Households average 2.3 people.
Below 72% of UK towns: 7% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
14% of households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%). As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
3.1% born outside the UK, fewer than in 90% 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 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
99% of residents have English as their main language; across England’s towns the figure is 90%. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.6%).
In Broseley, 58% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 90% 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: 97% of Broseley · Shropshire’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (1.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Indian (0.3%). By way of comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 36% of residents said they have no religion, a lower share than in 79% of UK towns.
More unpaid carers than 92% of UK towns: 11% of residents
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
30% of Broseley’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 50% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 8.7%. Adults who have never married are rarer here than in nearly two thirds of UK towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
27% of Broseley’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 21% have none (18%).
110th highest median age among 624 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Broseley in age: Cricklade (50.1), Fordingbridge (50.1), Midhurst (50.2) and Blythe Bridge and Forsbrook (50.3).
2 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Broseley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broseley | 5,596 | — | 50.2 | 26% | 25% |
| Much Wenlock | 1,766 | 3.5 mi | 56.6 | 38% | 18% |
| Telford | 156,890 | 4.8 mi | 39 | 16% | 31% |
| Bridgnorth | 12,172 | 5.9 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 22% |
| Shifnal | 8,973 | 6.1 mi | 41.9 | 20% | 29% |
| Albrighton | 6,983 | 8.2 mi | 39.3 | 21% | 25% |
| Pattingham | 1,773 | 9.3 mi | 48.5 | 28% | 29% |
| Newport | 14,191 | 11.6 mi | 44.4 | 24% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Shropshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Shropshire (or England), summed the same way as Broseley’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. Broseley’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,981 people in 2021, against 5,596 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 Broseley’s residents
What is the population of Broseley?
The 2021 Census counted 5,596 people in Broseley’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,000 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Broseley?
The median age was 50.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 86% of UK towns. 7.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Broseley?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Shropshire’s towns. 3.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Broseley?
36% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Broseley good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Broseley’s schools page.
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) · 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.