Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 81% of UK towns: 55%
Half of Shifnal’s residents are under 41.9, younger than in 70% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 8,973 residents here, living in 3,906 households. Households in detached houses: 38% of the total. Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2%, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
What the Census says about Shifnal’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Shifnal at 6,700 in 2011 and 9,700 in 2024, up 45%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 97% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
A growing town: +45% since 2011, faster than 97% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Shifnal’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 6,700 people in 2011; 9,700 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 0 to 15 changed most (+67%) and 45 to 64 least (+26%). The steepest year was mid-2020 to mid-2021, up 370 people.
9.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 72% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 30–34: 7.5% of residents. Lower than in 65% of UK towns: 20% of residents are 65 or over. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. In Church Stretton, the oldest of Shropshire’s towns by this measure, it is 43%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Shifnal, 41.9. 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.
Full-time students: 4%, a lower share than 84% 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%.
By class, 42% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 20% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 10%.
28% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 66% 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.
29% of households have dependent children, about the same as across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. A household here holds 2.3 people on average.
A smaller share of households in terraced houses than 68% of UK towns: 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
Where 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns, Shifnal has 13%. Households in flats account for 9.6%.
Residents born outside the UK: 4.6%, a lower share than 70% 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
90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, against 99% in Shifnal. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%).
Residents with no religion: 38%, a lower share than 70% 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: 93% of Shifnal · Shropshire’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 93% here and 73% across England’s towns. Next after White British come Mixed or multiple (2.2%), Other White (1.9%) and Indian (1.5%). Across the comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Adults who have never married: 33%, a higher share than 54% 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
194 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 63% of UK towns. As a reference point, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here.
Qualified to degree level: 36% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Shifnal, 36% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 14% have no qualification at all (18%).
128th lowest median age among 482 UK towns of 6,000 to 12,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 28.4 in Tidworth to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Shifnal in age: Pontarddulais (41.8), Tonyrefail (41.8), Polesworth and Dordon (41.9) and Sandy (41.9).
Shifnal and its 7 nearest towns: 4 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shifnal | 8,973 | — | 41.9 | 20% | 29% |
| Albrighton | 6,983 | 4 mi | 39.3 | 21% | 25% |
| Telford | 156,890 | 4.2 mi | 39 | 16% | 31% |
| Broseley | 5,596 | 6.1 mi | 50.2 | 26% | 25% |
| Wheaton Aston | 1,995 | 6.9 mi | 51.6 | 30% | 22% |
| Newport | 14,191 | 6.9 mi | 44.4 | 24% | 26% |
| Pattingham | 1,773 | 7.2 mi | 48.5 | 28% | 29% |
| Edgmond | 1,560 | 8 mi | 23.9 | 18% | 20% |
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 Shifnal’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. Shifnal’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 8,932 people in 2021, against 8,973 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 Shifnal’s residents
What is the population of Shifnal?
The 2021 Census counted 8,973 people in Shifnal’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 9,700 people in mid-2024, 45% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Shifnal?
The median age was 41.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 70% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shifnal?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Shropshire’s towns. 4.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shifnal?
38% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Shifnal good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shifnal’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.