Photo: DI Wyman · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 97% of UK towns: half of Knowbury is over 55
Households in terraced houses are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 316 residents in Knowbury, living in 136 households. Census figures put households without a car or van at 4.4% locally. Across England’s towns, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; locally, 18%.
Knowbury ranks above 92% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 31%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 13% of residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 7.9%.
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.
In Knowbury, 4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 83% of UK towns
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%.
11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, against 6.9% in Knowbury. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Fewer one-person households than 96% of UK towns: 21%
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.
Households in Knowbury hold 2.3 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). Elsewhere, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Locally, 24% of households have dependent children. Lower than in 93% of UK towns: 1.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
73% of households live in a detached house, more than in 99% 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
Residents whose main language is English: 100%, a higher share than 99% 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
Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK; in Knowbury, 4.1%. On average, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%) and in EU countries (1.3%).
Knowbury: 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, above 98% 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 Knowbury · Shropshire’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 31%, below 92% of UK towns. At the same time, at 64%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is higher than in 98% of UK towns. To put it in context, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Unpaid carers: 15%, a higher share than 99% 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
44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 63% in Knowbury. As a reference point, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
38% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Knowbury’s adults: 38% with a degree-level qualification and 15% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Every neighbour of Knowbury has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knowbury | 316 | — | 55 | 31% | 24% |
| Ludlow | 10,037 | 3.7 mi | 52.2 | 32% | 18% |
| Tenbury Wells | 3,936 | 4.3 mi | 50.8 | 30% | 24% |
| Cleobury Mortimer | 2,963 | 6 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 28% |
| Craven Arms | 2,563 | 10.3 mi | 45.4 | 24% | 25% |
| Leominster | 11,206 | 11.1 mi | 44.9 | 25% | 25% |
| Highley | 3,305 | 11.4 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 25% |
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 Knowbury’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 Knowbury’s residents
What is the population of Knowbury?
The 2021 Census counted 316 people in Knowbury’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Knowbury?
The median age was 55 at the 2021 Census. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Knowbury?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Shropshire’s towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Knowbury?
31% said they had no religion and 64% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Knowbury good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Knowbury’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.