Photo: MaryCleary · CC BY-SA 3.0Water Orton ranks above 83% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 56%
Half of Water Orton’s residents are over 47.5, older than in 72% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 3,484 residents locally, living in 1,490 households. On the census count, 14% of households live in a terraced house. Households without a car or van make up 12%, against 24% across England’s towns.
Water Orton changed by ±0% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 82% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Water Orton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,400 people in 2011; 3,500 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+22%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (−21%). Mid-2013 to mid-2014 brought the biggest yearly rise, 90 people.
A young town: 10% of residents are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 22%, against 18% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The largest age band is 50–54: nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Water Orton, 47.5. 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.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 86% of UK towns, at 6.9%
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, 37% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On the census count, 4.7% of adults are full-time students. Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across England’s towns.
Water Orton ranks below 79% of UK towns on one-person households: 26%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Warwickshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Water Orton, 27%. On top of that, this Warwickshire town has fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 72% of UK towns, at 2%. To put it in context, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Average household size: 2.3 people.
More households in flats than 68% of UK towns: 15%
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
Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house; in Water Orton, 23%.
Only 3.2% of residents were born outside the UK in Water Orton
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
The share of residents whose main language is English tops 87% of UK towns: 99%. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.3%), then in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.7%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
38% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 69% 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 Water Orton · Warwickshire’s towns 81% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 93%, against 73% across England’s towns. Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Besides White British, the main groups are Mixed or multiple (3%), Other White (2.2%) and Indian (0.6%).
50% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 64% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Unpaid carers: 9.9%, above 65% of UK towns. 83 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. The usual figure: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership 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
Water Orton’s adults: 28% with a degree-level qualification and 19% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
328th oldest of 749 UK towns of 2,500 to 5,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Milford on Sea the oldest (64.6). Nearest to Water Orton in age: Handsacre and Armitage (47.5), Belton (47.5), Over (47.5) and Drybrook (47.5).
Of the 7 towns nearest Water Orton, 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water Orton | 3,484 | — | 47.5 | 22% | 27% |
| Curdworth | 1,146 | 1.1 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 25% |
| Coleshill | 6,744 | 1.6 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 25% |
| Kingsbury | 3,555 | 4.2 mi | 49.3 | 25% | 24% |
| Hurley | 1,420 | 5 mi | 39.9 | 17% | 33% |
| Royal Sutton Coldfield | 93,392 | 5.1 mi | 45.4 | 23% | 29% |
| Wood End (North Warwickshire) | 1,562 | 6 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 30% |
| Hampton in Arden | 1,867 | 6.4 mi | 45.8 | 20% | 29% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Warwickshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Warwickshire (or England), summed the same way as Water Orton’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. Water Orton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,484 people in 2021, against 3,484 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 Water Orton’s residents
What is the population of Water Orton?
The 2021 Census counted 3,484 people in Water Orton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,500 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Water Orton?
The median age was 47.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 72% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Water Orton?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 81% across Warwickshire’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Water Orton?
38% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Water Orton good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Water Orton’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.