Photo: Richard Vince · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 97% of UK towns: half of Darlaston is under 33.9
Nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns, against 30% in Darlaston. There were 7,994 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 21,541 residents. In Darlaston, 38% of residents describe themselves as Christian. The town has more households in flats than 79% of UK towns, at 18%.
What the Census says about Darlaston’s people
A town of families
40% of Darlaston’s 7,994 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 98% of UK towns. 24% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Darlaston’s residents are under 33.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A mix of backgrounds
41% 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 Indian (11%), Pakistani (6.8%) and Bangladeshi (5%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Darlaston at 18,800 in 2011 and 22,500 in 2024, up 20%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 86% 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.
Faster growth than 86% of UK towns: Darlaston changed by +20% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Darlaston’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 18,800 people in 2011; 22,500 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2022 to mid-2023, 480 people. The 30 to 44 group saw the biggest change (+30%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (+8%).
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 96% of UK towns: 12%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 5–9: 8.4% of residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. Higher than in 94% of UK towns: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Darlaston, 33.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A higher share of full-time students than 94% of UK towns, at 8.5%
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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier; across England’s towns the figure is 11%. The usual figure: 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.
More family households than 98% of UK towns: 40% in Darlaston
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.
At 2.7 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Here, 27% of households are one person living alone. As a yardstick, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
A lower share of households in detached houses than 93% of UK towns, at 10%
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
In Darlaston, 27% of households live in a terraced house, beside 24% across England’s towns. Meanwhile, 18% of households live in a flat, more than in 79% of UK towns; 10% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English make up 87% in Darlaston, less than in 95% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in the Middle East and Asia (9.6%), then in EU countries (5.4%). On residents born outside the UK, Darlaston sits higher than 92% of UK towns: 19%. To put it in context, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 20% (England’s towns: 21%).
59% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 97% 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: 59% of Darlaston · West Midlands’ towns 56% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Indian (11%), Pakistani (6.8%) and Bangladeshi (5%). Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 31%, fewer than in 92% of UK towns. On average, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
More adults who have never married than 94% of UK towns: 42%
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
674 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Lower than in 88% of UK towns: 41% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Typically, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers: 9.1%, near enough the figure across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 20%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Darlaston counts 20% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 29% have no qualification (18%). For 15%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 34 in Darlaston East to 35 in Wood Green & Old Park
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Wood Green & Old Park is the oldest area, with 13% aged 65 or over; Darlaston East the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Darlaston East (41% of households).
3rd lowest median age among 289 UK towns of 15,000 to 29,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bangor (26.4) and the oldest South Hayling (57.2). Nearest to Darlaston in age: Bangor (26.4), Egham (31.1), Old Trafford (34.1) and Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock (34.3).
No nearby town is as young as Darlaston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darlaston | 21,541 | — | 33.9 | 12% | 40% |
| Wednesbury | 20,321 | 1.2 mi | 39.1 | 17% | 33% |
| Bilston | 34,631 | 1.4 mi | 35.3 | 14% | 36% |
| Willenhall | 49,582 | 2.1 mi | 39.2 | 18% | 32% |
| Tipton | 47,202 | 2.4 mi | 36.6 | 14% | 35% |
| Walsall | 70,777 | 2.5 mi | 35.3 | 14% | 36% |
| Coseley | 25,206 | 3 mi | 42 | 20% | 29% |
| West Bromwich | 103,099 | 3 mi | 37.9 | 15% | 34% |
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 Darlaston’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. Darlaston’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 21,418 people in 2021, against 21,541 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 Darlaston’s residents
What is the population of Darlaston?
The 2021 Census counted 21,541 people in Darlaston’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 22,500 people in mid-2024, 20% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Darlaston?
The median age was 33.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 97% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Darlaston?
59% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 56% across West Midlands’ towns. 19% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Darlaston?
31% said they had no religion and 38% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 17% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Darlaston good for families?
40% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Darlaston East (41% of households). Schools are on Darlaston’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.