Photo: Row17 · CC BY-SA 2.0High Ercall is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 59.4
Here 14% of households have dependent children, where the figure across England’s towns is 29%. Census figures put married adults and civil partners at 57% in High Ercall. 7.6% of households live in a terraced house, a lower share than in 94% of UK towns. The village’s 378 households held 768 residents at the 2021 Census.
41% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 99% of UK towns: 6.4%. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
Fewer full-time students than 98% of UK towns: 3.2%
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%.
In High Ercall, 32% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 26% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%. On the census count, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
High Ercall households average 2 people, smaller than in 98% 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.
The share of one-person households tops four fifths of UK towns: 34%. In High Ercall, 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
High Ercall sits above 90% of UK towns for households in detached houses (51%)
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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, just over one in ten households have no car or van in High Ercall. Households in detached houses make up 21% across England’s towns. The share of households in flats stands at 5.3%.
3.3% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 88% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%) or in EU countries (0.8%). Higher than in 77% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language. Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 92% of UK towns: 59%
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 High Ercall · Shropshire’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Mixed or multiple (1.7%), Other White (0.5%) and Indian (0.5%). 96% of residents describe themselves as White British, a higher share than in 87% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46% across England’s towns, for comparison. Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in High Ercall comes in at 33%.
A higher share of unpaid carers than 99% of UK towns, at 16%
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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 29 people. Few places have so few adults who have never married: 22% here, fewer than in 98% of UK towns. The usual figure: nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in High Ercall, 27%, and 25% have none, against 18%.
Every nearby town is younger than High Ercall
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Ercall | 768 | — | 59.4 | 41% | 14% |
| Shawbury | 1,962 | 3.1 mi | 37.5 | 17% | 33% |
| Shrewsbury | 76,013 | 6.5 mi | 43.2 | 21% | 25% |
| Bomere Heath | 1,364 | 7.3 mi | 49.3 | 28% | 25% |
| Telford | 156,890 | 7.7 mi | 39 | 16% | 31% |
| Edgmond | 1,560 | 7.8 mi | 23.9 | 18% | 20% |
| Wem | 6,287 | 8.5 mi | 47.6 | 27% | 22% |
| Bayston Hill | 5,221 | 8.8 mi | 48 | 28% | 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 High Ercall’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 High Ercall’s residents
What is the population of High Ercall?
The 2021 Census counted 768 people in High Ercall’s built-up area.
What is the average age in High Ercall?
The median age was 59.4 at the 2021 Census. 6.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 41% were 65 or over.
How diverse is High Ercall?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Shropshire’s towns. 3.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in High Ercall?
33% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is High Ercall good for families?
14% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on High Ercall’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.