Photo: El Pollock · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents who describe themselves as White British: 95%, a higher share than 73% of UK towns
7.5% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. Gobowen has fewer households in terraced houses than 66% of UK towns, at 16%. The 2021 Census counted 3,046 residents in 1,282 households. Residents aged 65 and over account for 24%.
Gobowen is older than 58% of UK towns: a median age of 45.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
11% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.4% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Gobowen, 45.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 91% of UK towns: 7% 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 England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Gobowen, 29% and 27%. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%. The census found that nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier here.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 67% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.1%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. 31% of households are one person living alone.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 55% of UK towns, at 16%
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
28% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
4.8% born outside the UK, fewer than in 67% 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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 22% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.5%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%).
Gobowen sits above 67% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (52%)
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 Gobowen · Shropshire’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 37% across England’s towns, two in five residents said they have no religion in Gobowen. The groups that follow White British are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Indian (0.6%). The wider picture: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 70% of UK towns: 10% 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
Married adults and civil partners: 45%, below 68% of UK towns. Typically, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. The share of adults who have never married stands at 34%.
Degree-level qualifications: 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Gobowen, 26% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 22% have no qualification at all (18%). The highest qualification of 17% is A levels, often students still at university.
201st youngest of 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to Gobowen in age: Cliffe Woods (45.5), Buckfastleigh (45.5), Welham Green (45.6) and Bampton (45.6).
3 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Gobowen
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gobowen | 3,046 | — | 45.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Weston Rhyn | 1,381 | 1.9 mi | 44 | 23% | 25% |
| Whittington | 1,618 | 2.1 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 29% |
| St Martins | 2,692 | 2.2 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 26% |
| Oswestry | 17,500 | 2.6 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 24% |
| Chirk | 3,930 | 3.2 mi | 45.3 | 22% | 28% |
| Morda | 1,976 | 3.8 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 33% |
| Acrefair and Cefn-mawr | 6,905 | 5.8 mi | 39.3 | 19% | 33% |
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.
- “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 Gobowen’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 Gobowen’s residents
What is the population of Gobowen?
The 2021 Census counted 3,046 people in Gobowen’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Gobowen?
The median age was 45.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 58% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Gobowen?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Shropshire’s towns. 4.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Gobowen?
40% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Gobowen good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Gobowen’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). 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.