Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.08.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 89% of UK towns
In Meriden, a third of residents said they have no religion, beside 37% across England’s towns. Here, just over a third of households are one person living alone. Lower than in 71% of UK towns: 25% of households have dependent children. The village is home to 2,203 residents in 984 households, by the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Meriden’s people
Many carers
237 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 92% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 25% in Meriden, more than in 72% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Meriden’s residents are over 46.4, older than in 64% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Aldridge, the oldest of West Midlands’ towns by this measure, it is 28%.
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.
More full-time students than 64% of UK towns: 5.1%
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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Meriden has 38% and 21%. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.5%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 74% 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.
2.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
In Meriden, 16% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 73% 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
Households in terraced houses make up 18%, against 24% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. For Meriden, the census puts households in detached houses at 30%. Every 6th household or so has no car or van.
A lower share of residents born outside the UK than 61% of UK towns, at 5.3%
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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%). Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Since 2017: 9.7% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 57%, a higher share than 88% 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: 87% of Meriden · West Midlands’ towns 56% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (4%), Mixed or multiple (3.3%) and Indian (2.6%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are scarce here: 87%, fewer than in 73% of UK towns. For residents who describe themselves as Christian, the comparison across England’s towns is 46%.
11% of residents give unpaid care, a share 92% 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
Against a figure of 39% across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married in Meriden comes in at 30%. The comparison figure for unpaid carers is 8.7% across England’s towns. 88 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
33% of Meriden’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 21% have none (18%).
Nearby, 4 of 7 towns have older populations than Meriden
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meriden | 2,203 | — | 46.4 | 25% | 25% |
| Hampton in Arden | 1,867 | 2.4 mi | 45.8 | 20% | 29% |
| Balsall Common | 7,094 | 3.3 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 29% |
| Burton Green | 1,556 | 4.5 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 30% |
| Keresley Newlands | 3,631 | 5 mi | 36.1 | 12% | 39% |
| Coleshill | 6,744 | 5 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 25% |
| New Arley | 1,666 | 5.7 mi | 38.7 | 13% | 29% |
| Knowle and Dorridge | 19,323 | 5.8 mi | 48.2 | 26% | 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 Meriden’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Meriden’s residents
What is the population of Meriden?
The 2021 Census counted 2,203 people in Meriden’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Meriden?
The median age was 46.4 at the 2021 Census. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Meriden?
87% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 56% across West Midlands’ towns. 5.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Meriden?
33% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Meriden good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Meriden’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). 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.