Photo: Peter Fleming · CC BY-SA 2.0Prees Higher Heath is older than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 53.2
The share of one-person households is 23%, against 30% across England’s towns. Census day 2021: 1,226 residents and 529 households in Prees Higher Heath. In Prees Higher Heath, 1.3% of households live in a terraced house. Households in detached houses are more common here than in 99% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Prees Higher Heath’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Prees Higher Heath’s residents are under 53.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
147 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 99% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
In Prees Higher Heath, 31% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 9.3% of residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. 8.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 79% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
Prees Higher Heath sits below 74% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (7.6%)
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%.
Nearly a third of Prees Higher Heath’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 23% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year: 11% across England’s towns, for comparison. Here, 4.5% of adults are full-time students.
Only 21% of households have dependent children in Prees Higher Heath
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.
At 4.4%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is in line with the figure across England’s towns. For comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Households here average 2.4 people each.
1% of households live in a flat or apartment, below 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
Households without a car or van: 6.8%, below 96% of UK towns. Elsewhere, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 90% of UK towns: 3.1%
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
The share of residents whose main language is English is 99%, against 90% across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.7%) and in Africa (0.6%). Residents born outside the UK: 18% across England’s towns, for comparison.
60% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 95% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 94% of Prees Higher Heath · Shropshire’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 94% of residents describe themselves as White British, where the figure across England’s towns is 73%. For Prees Higher Heath, the census puts residents with no religion at 32%. Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Prees Higher Heath ranks above 99% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 12%
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
Where 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns, Prees Higher Heath has 55%. 26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. By way of comparison, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
28% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
21% of Prees Higher Heath’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 28% have one at degree level (34%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Prees Higher Heath, 1 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prees Higher Heath | 1,226 | — | 53.2 | 31% | 21% |
| Prees | 1,013 | 1.4 mi | 50.8 | 27% | 22% |
| Whitchurch | 9,856 | 3.8 mi | 47 | 24% | 24% |
| Wem | 6,287 | 5 mi | 47.6 | 27% | 22% |
| Market Drayton | 12,062 | 6.8 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 26% |
| Audlem | 1,833 | 7.9 mi | 58.2 | 39% | 19% |
| Malpas | 1,361 | 8.6 mi | 51.3 | 32% | 20% |
| Shawbury | 1,962 | 8.8 mi | 37.5 | 17% | 33% |
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 Prees Higher Heath’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 Prees Higher Heath’s residents
What is the population of Prees Higher Heath?
The 2021 Census counted 1,226 people in Prees Higher Heath’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Prees Higher Heath?
The median age was 53.2 at the 2021 Census. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Prees Higher Heath?
94% 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 Prees Higher Heath?
32% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Prees Higher Heath good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Prees Higher Heath’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.