Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Smethwick is younger than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 33.7
The typical household size is 2.9 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Census figures put households in terraced houses at 42% in Smethwick. On households without a car or van, Smethwick sits higher than 98% of UK towns: 35%. This West Midlands town had 56,343 residents in 19,013 households at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Smethwick’s people
More born abroad than anywhere else in West Midlands
40% 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 (23%) and in EU countries (7.9%). Where people were born ↓
A town of families
41% of Smethwick’s 19,013 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 98% of UK towns and the highest share in West Midlands. 24% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A mix of backgrounds
76% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 99% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Indian (17%), Pakistani (15%) and African (8.6%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Smethwick’s residents are under 33.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 14% are 15 to 24 and 11% 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, Smethwick has grown +21%, faster than 87% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Smethwick’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 49,700 people in 2011; 59,900 in 2024.
Mid-2014 to mid-2015 brought the biggest yearly rise, 1,400 people. The 45 to 64 group saw the biggest change (+31%), the 65 and over group the smallest (+2%).
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 97% of UK towns: 11%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 10–14 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in 96% of UK towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Smethwick, 33.7. 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.
More students than 97% of UK towns: 12% of adults in Smethwick
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%.
In Smethwick, 18% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 30% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. 8.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
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: 41% in Smethwick
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.
27% of households are one person living alone; across England’s towns the figure is 30%. Across Smethwick, 4.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Set beside that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
8.3% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 96% 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 nearly a fifth of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. Typically, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 40%, a higher share than 99% 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 50%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 23% (England’s towns: 21%). Here, 71% of residents have English as their main language. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 99% of UK towns: 25%
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: 25% of Smethwick · West Midlands’ towns 56% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, Smethwick has 15%. 29% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 99% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 73% across England’s towns, for comparison. Islam is the religion of 30% of residents.
Smethwick sits above 89% of UK towns for adults who have never married (40%)
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
By its share of married adults and civil partners (45%), Smethwick is below 69% of UK towns. Locally, 7.7% of residents give unpaid care. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Smethwick, 26% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 30% have no qualification at all (18%). A levels are as far as 13% have gone so far, many of them students midway to a degree.
From a median age of 30 in Smethwick South East to 44 in Warley South
The town’s 7 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 23% aged 65 or over; Smethwick South East the youngest (median age 30). Families with children are most common in Smethwick South East (53% of households).
Ranked by age, 5th youngest of 126 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Canterbury (27.5) and the oldest Lytham St Anne's (54.4). Nearest to Smethwick in age: Durham (31.4), Loughborough (31.4), Dewsbury (34.4) and Lancaster (35).
Of the 7 towns nearest Smethwick, 6 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smethwick | 56,343 | — | 33.7 | 11% | 41% |
| Oldbury | 45,188 | 1.6 mi | 38.4 | 15% | 34% |
| Blackheath | 6,950 | 2.9 mi | 39.8 | 18% | 29% |
| Rowley Regis | 39,052 | 3.2 mi | 37.6 | 16% | 34% |
| West Bromwich | 103,099 | 3.3 mi | 37.9 | 15% | 34% |
| Birmingham | 1,121,367 | 3.9 mi | 33.6 | 13% | 34% |
| Halesowen | 60,103 | 4.3 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Cradley Heath | 18,819 | 4.3 mi | 38.2 | 17% | 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 Smethwick’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. Smethwick’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 57,487 people in 2021, against 56,343 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 Smethwick’s residents
What is the population of Smethwick?
The 2021 Census counted 56,343 people in Smethwick’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 59,900 people in mid-2024, 21% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Smethwick?
The median age was 33.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 97% of UK towns. 14% of residents were 15 to 24 and 11% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Smethwick?
25% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 56% across West Midlands’ towns. 40% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Smethwick?
15% said they had no religion and 29% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 30% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Smethwick good for families?
41% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Smethwick South East (53% of households). Schools are on Smethwick’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.