Photo: Cutler at English Wikipedia · Public domainA smaller share of households in detached houses than 96% of UK towns: 8.2%
Married adults and civil partners: 40%, below 92% of UK towns. In Blackheath, just over a third of households are one person living alone. With a median age of 39.8, Blackheath is younger than 81% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 6,950 residents in 3,008 households.
Since 2011, Blackheath has changed by +6%, slower than 56% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Blackheath’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 6,300 people in 2011; 6,700 in 2024.
Between mid-2023 and mid-2024 the population rose by 150, its biggest one-year gain. The 45 to 64 age group moved most (+18%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (−15%).
A higher share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 85% of UK towns, at 11%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 7.8% of residents. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over are rarer here than in 77% of UK towns. In Aldridge, the oldest of West Midlands’ towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Blackheath, 39.8. 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.
7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 85% 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%.
With full-time students at 6.5%, Blackheath is ahead of 88% of UK towns on that count. By way of comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
In Blackheath, 2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, more than in 68% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against West Midlands’ towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Households with dependent children are more common here than in 70% of UK towns. Against that, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Blackheath sits above 96% of UK towns for households without a car or van (31%)
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
The share of households in terraced houses tops 84% of UK towns: 31%. Measured more widely, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Across Blackheath, 20% of households live in a flat or apartment.
Blackheath: 13% of residents were born outside the UK, above 82% 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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns, nine in ten residents have English as their main language; in Blackheath, 92%. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (5.4%) and in EU countries (4%).
A lower White British share than 91% of UK towns: 73% of residents
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: 73% of Blackheath · West Midlands’ towns 56% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
There is little gap on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46%, about the same as across England’s towns. The share of residents with no religion stands at 37%.
Above 83% of UK towns: 11% of residents give unpaid care
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
Two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 39%. Across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 8.7%.
Among adults, 20% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Blackheath’s adults: 20% with a degree-level qualification and 29% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. A levels top the qualifications of 15%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
473 UK towns of 5,000 to 9,000 people: this is the 66th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Red Lodge is the youngest (30.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Blackheath in age: Buntingford (39.7), Bolton upon Dearne (39.8), Paulton (39.8) and Shefford (39.9).
Blackheath sits below 1 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackheath | 6,950 | — | 39.8 | 18% | 29% |
| Oldbury | 45,188 | 1.3 mi | 38.4 | 15% | 34% |
| Cradley Heath | 18,819 | 1.3 mi | 38.2 | 17% | 30% |
| Rowley Regis | 39,052 | 1.5 mi | 37.6 | 16% | 34% |
| Halesowen | 60,103 | 1.7 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Dudley | 64,277 | 2.9 mi | 36.4 | 15% | 33% |
| Smethwick | 56,343 | 2.9 mi | 33.7 | 11% | 41% |
| Brierley Hill | 32,311 | 3.6 mi | 39.8 | 18% | 29% |
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.
- “West Midlands’ towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in West Midlands (or England), summed the same way as Blackheath’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. Blackheath’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,365 people in 2021, against 6,950 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 Blackheath’s residents
What is the population of Blackheath?
The 2021 Census counted 6,950 people in Blackheath’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,700 people in mid-2024, 6% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Blackheath?
The median age was 39.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 81% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Blackheath?
73% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 56% across West Midlands’ towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Blackheath?
37% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 6.8% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Blackheath good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Blackheath’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.