Photo: Dave Bevis · CC BY-SA 2.0Oldbury is younger than 88% of UK towns: a median age of 38.4
Where just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, Oldbury has 9.4%. There were 17,656 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 45,188 residents. Residents who describe themselves as Christian account for 41%. Higher than in 90% of UK towns: 34% of households have dependent children.
What the Census says about Oldbury’s people
A mix of backgrounds
47% 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 (14%), Pakistani (7.8%) and Mixed or multiple (5.2%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Oldbury’s residents are under 38.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 15% 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.
Since 2011, Oldbury has grown +13%, faster than 70% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Oldbury’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 40,300 people in 2011; 45,500 in 2024.
Between mid-2022 and mid-2023 the population rose by 710, its biggest one-year gain. Change by age ran from +19% for the 30 to 44 to +4% for the 16 to 29.
Oldbury sits below 89% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (15%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
At 12%, residents aged 15 to 24 sit close to the figure across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 10–14, with 7.1% of residents. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Oldbury, 38.4. 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.
7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 84% 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%.
8% of adults are full-time students, about the same as across England’s towns. The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns: 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 93% of UK towns: 2.5 people each 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.
Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 3.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. Across Oldbury, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Households without a car or van: 27%, a higher share than 90% 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
Here just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. Add to that, on households in flats, Oldbury sits higher than nearly three quarters of UK towns: 16%. One household in 4 has no car or van.
21% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 94% 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 (11%), then in EU countries (4.9%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are scarce here: 86%, fewer than in 96% of UK towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 97% of UK towns: 53%
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: 53% of Oldbury · West Midlands’ towns 56% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Indian (14%), Pakistani (7.8%) and Mixed or multiple (5.2%). As a reference point, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents with no religion: 27% here, fewer than in 96% of UK towns.
Adults who have never married: 38%, a higher share than 85% of UK towns
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
Oldbury sits close to the norm on married adults and civil partners: 44%, about the same as across England’s towns. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. Some 1,268 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
24% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Oldbury, 24%, and 27% have none, against 18%. 16% have A levels as their highest qualification, many of them still studying for a degree.
From a median age of 33 in Tividale to 42 in Warley South
The town’s 9 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Warley South is the oldest area, with 19% aged 65 or over; Tividale the youngest (median age 33). Families with children are most common in Tividale (43% of households).
Ranked by age, 31st youngest of 157 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 27.5 in Canterbury to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Oldbury in age: Gravesend (38.3), Skelmersdale (38.4), Wellingborough (38.6) and Sittingbourne (38.6).
Oldbury sits below 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oldbury | 45,188 | — | 38.4 | 15% | 34% |
| Blackheath | 6,950 | 1.3 mi | 39.8 | 18% | 29% |
| Smethwick | 56,343 | 1.6 mi | 33.7 | 11% | 41% |
| Rowley Regis | 39,052 | 2 mi | 37.6 | 16% | 34% |
| Cradley Heath | 18,819 | 2.7 mi | 38.2 | 17% | 30% |
| Halesowen | 60,103 | 2.7 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 28% |
| West Bromwich | 103,099 | 3.8 mi | 37.9 | 15% | 34% |
| Dudley | 64,277 | 3.9 mi | 36.4 | 15% | 33% |
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 Oldbury’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. Oldbury’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 43,533 people in 2021, against 45,188 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 Oldbury’s residents
What is the population of Oldbury?
The 2021 Census counted 45,188 people in Oldbury’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 45,500 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Oldbury?
The median age was 38.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 88% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Oldbury?
53% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 56% across West Midlands’ towns. 21% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Oldbury?
27% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 11% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Oldbury good for families?
34% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Tividale (43% of households). Schools are on Oldbury’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.