Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0Telford is younger than 85% of UK towns: a median age of 39
At 2.4 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. The 2021 Census counted 156,890 residents in 64,537 households. For Telford, the census puts adults who have never married at 37%. Higher than in 79% of UK towns: 31% of households have dependent children.
What the Census says about Telford’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Telford’s residents are under 39 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Telford at 144,000 in 2011 and 169,500 in 2024, up 18%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 81% 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.
Telford’s population changed by +18% since 2011, more than in 81% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Telford’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 144,000 people in 2011; 169,500 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+43%) and the 16 to 29 least (+4%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 3,290 people.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 16% in Telford, less than in 85% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 12% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Telford comes in at 11%. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. No age band is larger than 30–34: 7.2% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Telford, 39. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More students than 78% of UK towns: 5.6% of adults in Telford
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, 27% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 31% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year: 9.7% of the total.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Telford sits below 67% of UK towns for one-person households (28%)
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: 3.4%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. One-person households make up 30% across England’s towns.
Above 73% of UK towns: 20% of households have no car or van
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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house here. Households in detached houses account for 28%. Every 5th household or so has no car or van, the 3rd highest share in Shropshire.
12% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 81% 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
Nearly a quarter of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The share of residents whose main language is English stands at 93%.
A smaller share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 84% of UK towns: 81%
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: 81% of Telford · Shropshire’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
42% of residents said they have no religion; across England’s towns the figure is 37%. Lower than in 72% of UK towns: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian. The wider picture: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (5.7%), Mixed or multiple (2.8%) and Indian (2.7%).
Unpaid carers: 10%, a higher share than 75% 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
There is little gap on married adults and civil partners: 44%, about the same as across England’s towns. On average, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
25% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
25% of Telford’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 21% have none (18%).
From a median age of 32 in Woodside to 49 in Madeley
The city’s 21 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Madeley is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Woodside the youngest (median age 32). Families with children are most common in Woodside (42% of households).
Among 45 UK towns of 110,000 to 212,000 people, the 18th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Oldham (31.6) and the oldest Worthing (44.8). Nearest to Telford in age: Kingston upon Thames (38.6), Swansea (38.9), Ipswich (39) and Stockport (39.1).
Nearby, 6 of 7 towns have older populations than Telford
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telford | 156,890 | — | 39 | 16% | 31% |
| Shifnal | 8,973 | 4.2 mi | 41.9 | 20% | 29% |
| Broseley | 5,596 | 4.8 mi | 50.2 | 26% | 25% |
| Edgmond | 1,560 | 6.9 mi | 23.9 | 18% | 20% |
| Newport | 14,191 | 7.1 mi | 44.4 | 24% | 26% |
| Much Wenlock | 1,766 | 7.2 mi | 56.6 | 38% | 18% |
| Albrighton | 6,983 | 8.1 mi | 39.3 | 21% | 25% |
| Bridgnorth | 12,172 | 10.3 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 22% |
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 Telford’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. Telford’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 160,437 people in 2021, against 156,890 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 Telford’s residents
What is the population of Telford?
The 2021 Census counted 156,890 people in Telford’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 169,500 people in mid-2024, 18% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Telford?
The median age was 39 at the 2021 Census, younger than 85% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Telford?
81% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Shropshire’s towns. 12% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Telford?
42% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.1% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Telford good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Woodside (42% of households). Schools are on Telford’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.