Photo: Robert Lamb · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 96% of UK towns: half of Bath is under 35.2
Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%; Bath has 28%. This Somerset town had 94,080 residents in 38,691 households at the 2021 Census. In Bath, 32% of households live in a flat or apartment. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 36% here, fewer than in 97% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Bath’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 18,256 full-time students aged 16 and over, 23% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 24% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
A town people move to
21% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 2 times the share across England’s towns, and 4.8% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Bath’s residents are under 35.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 24% are 15 to 24 and 17% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More born abroad than anywhere else in Somerset
18% of residents were born outside the UK, against 9.6% across Somerset’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (7.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (5%). Where people were born ↓
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: +12% since 2011, faster than 67% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bath’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 88,500 people in 2011; 99,000 in 2024.
The 16 to 29 group saw the biggest change (+27%), the 0 to 15 group the smallest (+1%). Between mid-2021 and mid-2022 the population rose by 2,170, its biggest one-year gain.
In Bath, 24% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
17% of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%). By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bath, 35.2. 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 make up 23% in Bath, more than in 99% 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%.
Just over a fifth of residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
11% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Somerset’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
With one-person households at 32%, Bath is ahead of 70% of UK towns on that count. Shared households of unrelated adults: 4.3% across England’s towns, for comparison. The census found that nearly a quarter of households have dependent children here.
Fewer households in detached houses than 93% of UK towns: 11%
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, a third of households live in a terraced house in Bath. Meanwhile, nearly a third of households live in a flat, more than in 96% of UK towns; 11% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents whose main language is English than 88% of UK towns, at 92%
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
Just over a third of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. Here, 18% of residents were born outside the UK. Set beside that, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Bath sits above 93% of UK towns for residents with no religion (50%)
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: 78% of Bath · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
1.6% of residents said their religion is Muslim. Measured more widely, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as White British: 78% here, fewer than in 86% of UK towns. On top of that, in Bath, nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 46% across England’s towns.
50% of adults have never married, more than in 98% 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
7.2% of residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%.
44% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 44% of adults in Bath, 34% across England’s towns; 9.9% have no qualification, against 18%. The highest qualification of 25% is A levels, often students still at university.
From a median age of 24 in Widcombe, Bathwick Hill & Claverton Down to 46 in Bloomfield
The town’s 14 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Bloomfield is the oldest area, with 22% aged 65 or over; Widcombe, Bathwick Hill & Claverton Down the youngest (median age 24). Students cluster in Widcombe, Bathwick Hill & Claverton Down, where 47% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Combe Down (31% of households).
7th youngest of 79 UK towns of 66,000 to 127,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Salford (29.8), the youngest, and Paignton (48.4), the oldest. Nearest to Bath in age: Guildford (34.7), Exeter (35.1), Walsall (35.3) and Blackburn (35.5).
Of the 7 towns nearest Bath, 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath | 94,080 | — | 35.2 | 17% | 23% |
| Bathampton | 1,698 | 2.3 mi | 49.3 | 29% | 28% |
| Newton St Loe | 1,372 | 3 mi | 18.8 | 3.2% | 19% |
| Batheaston | 3,878 | 3 mi | 46.1 | 21% | 29% |
| Bathford | 1,153 | 3.5 mi | 50.7 | 29% | 26% |
| Saltford | 4,133 | 4.1 mi | 51.6 | 29% | 25% |
| Winsley | 1,365 | 4.2 mi | 53.1 | 33% | 27% |
| Peasedown St John | 6,668 | 4.9 mi | 43.2 | 19% | 30% |
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.
- “Somerset’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Somerset (or England), summed the same way as Bath’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. Bath’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 95,041 people in 2021, against 94,080 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 Bath’s residents
What is the population of Bath?
The 2021 Census counted 94,080 people in Bath’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 99,000 people in mid-2024, 12% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bath?
The median age was 35.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 24% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
Is Bath a student town?
Yes: 23% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (18,256 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In Widcombe, Bathwick Hill & Claverton Down, 47% of adults were students.
How diverse is Bath?
78% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 18% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bath?
50% said they had no religion and 39% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.6% were Muslim and 7.9% didn’t answer.
Is Bath good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Combe Down (31% of households). Schools are on Bath’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.