Photo: Oliver Mills · CC BY-SA 2.0Coventry is younger than 96% of UK towns: a median age of 34.9
By its share of married adults and civil partners (40%), Coventry is below 91% of UK towns. The city is home to 344,289 residents in 132,706 households, by the 2021 Census. Residents with no religion account for 30%. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 94% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Coventry’s people
A student city
The 2021 Census counted 43,368 full-time students aged 16 and over, 16% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 17% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than most towns
28% of residents were born outside the UK, against 22% across West Midlands’ towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (11%) and in EU countries (10%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
45% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 97% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (10%), Indian (9.4%) and African (7%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Coventry’s residents are under 34.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 17% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
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.
+16% since 2011, a pace 78% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Coventry’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 317,500 people in 2011; 368,700 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2023 to mid-2024, the population rose by 9,430, the most of any year. The 30 to 44 age group changed most (+25%) and the 65 and over least (+10%).
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 17% in Coventry, more than in 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 20–24: nearly one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. 14% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 92% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Coventry, 34.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 16%, a higher share than 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%.
Leave the students aside and Coventry’s other adults differ from England’s: 30% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%. The census found that 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in the city.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 88% of UK towns: 2.5 people on average
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.
Across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 29%; Coventry has 31%. Locally, 5.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Few places have as many one-person households: 30% here, more than in 56% of UK towns.
Households without a car or van: 28%, a higher share than 92% of UK towns
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
18% of households live in a flat or apartment; across England’s towns the figure is 23%. At 11%, the share of households in detached houses is lower than in 91% of UK towns. Measured more widely, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
28% born outside the UK, more than in 97% 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 35%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, against 82% in Coventry. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (11%) and in EU countries (10%). For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A lower White British share than 97% of UK towns: 55% 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: 55% of Coventry · West Midlands’ towns 56% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Muslims make up one in ten residents. Lower than in just over four fifths of UK towns: 44% of residents describe themselves as Christian. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns is 73%.
Coventry sits above 96% of UK towns for adults who have never married (45%)
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
8,294 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Fewer unpaid carers than in just over three quarters of UK towns: 8.4%. Typically, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 31%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Coventry, 31% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 19% have no qualification at all (18%). Many still at university: 19% list A levels as their highest qualification.
From a median age of 19 in Cubbington, Stoneleigh & Radford Semele to 50 in Allesley Green & Lower Eastern Green
The city’s 43 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Allesley Green & Lower Eastern Green is the oldest area, with 29% aged 65 or over; Cubbington, Stoneleigh & Radford Semele the youngest (median age 19). Students cluster in Cubbington, Stoneleigh & Radford Semele, where 85% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Foleshill West (47% of households).
Of 36 UK towns its size (241,000 to 465,000 people), the 14th youngest
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 Tower Hamlets (30.8), the youngest, and Bromley (41.2), the oldest. Nearest to Coventry in age: Cardiff (34.5), Southampton (34.7), Greenwich (35.3) and Lewisham (35.4).
Every nearby town is older than Coventry
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coventry | 344,289 | — | 34.9 | 14% | 31% |
| Ash Green | 2,562 | 3.2 mi | 49.1 | 25% | 26% |
| Keresley Newlands | 3,631 | 3.4 mi | 36.1 | 12% | 39% |
| Hawkesbury | 2,288 | 3.4 mi | 36.3 | 8.4% | 32% |
| Binley Woods | 2,569 | 4.1 mi | 51.3 | 30% | 24% |
| Bedworth | 31,083 | 4.5 mi | 42.6 | 21% | 29% |
| Ryton-on-Dunsmore | 1,829 | 4.5 mi | 45.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Burton Green | 1,556 | 4.5 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 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.
- “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 Coventry’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. Coventry’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 346,228 people in 2021, against 344,289 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 Coventry’s residents
What is the population of Coventry?
The 2021 Census counted 344,289 people in Coventry’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 368,700 people in mid-2024, 16% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Coventry?
The median age was 34.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 17% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
Is Coventry a student city?
Yes: 16% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (43,368 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In Cubbington, Stoneleigh & Radford Semele, 85% of adults were students.
How diverse is Coventry?
55% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 56% across West Midlands’ towns. 28% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Coventry?
30% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 10% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Coventry good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Foleshill West (47% of households). Schools are on Coventry’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.