Photo: Martin Richard Phelan · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Walsall is under 35.3, younger than 96% of UK towns
Here just over a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. In Walsall, 16% of residents said they have no religion. 31% of households have no car or van, more than in 95% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 70,777 residents in 25,575 households.
What the Census says about Walsall’s people
More born abroad than most towns
30% 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 (19%) and in EU countries (6.8%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
67% 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 Pakistani (22%), Indian (15%) and Bangladeshi (7.1%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A town of families
36% of Walsall’s 25,575 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 95% of UK towns. 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Walsall’s residents are under 35.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 14% 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.
A growing town: +13% since 2011, faster than 69% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Walsall’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 68,300 people in 2011; 76,800 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2022 to mid-2023, the population rose by 2,180, the most of any year. By age, the 30 to 44 group changed most (+19%) and the 16 to 29 group least (+8%).
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 92% of UK towns: 14%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops 96% of UK towns: 14%. The largest age band is 35–39: 7.3% of residents. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Walsall, 35.3. 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.
More students than 96% of UK towns: 11% of adults in Walsall
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%.
Here 8.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, where the figure across England’s towns is 11%. Across the comparison, 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.
A higher share of households with dependent children than 95% of UK towns, at 36%
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 3.5%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is in line with the figure across England’s towns. The average household has 2.7 people. Measured more widely, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Walsall ranks below 76% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 19%
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 a quarter of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. As a yardstick, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Walsall sits above 98% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (30%)
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 40%
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 (19%), then in EU countries (6.8%). Nearly four in five residents have English as their main language, a lower share than in 99% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 99% of UK towns, at 33%
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: 33% of Walsall · West Midlands’ towns 56% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, Walsall has 30%. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%. Behind White British, the largest groups are Pakistani (22%), Indian (15%) and Bangladeshi (7.1%).
More adults who have never married than 78% of UK towns: 37%
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
Here 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 44%. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 8.9%, fewer than in 62% of UK towns. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%.
Among adults, 28% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 28% of adults in Walsall, 34% across England’s towns; 27% have no qualification, against 18%. For 14%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 28 in Walsall Ryecroft to 48 in Pheasey & Sutton Road
The town’s 11 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Pheasey & Sutton Road is the oldest area, with 27% aged 65 or over; Walsall Ryecroft the youngest (median age 28). Families with children are most common in Walsall Ryecroft (50% of households).
10th youngest of 105 UK towns of 50,000 to 96,000 people
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 Clacton-on-Sea (50.4). Nearest to Walsall in age: Lancaster (35), Bath (35.2), High Wycombe (35.8) and Bloxwich (36.3).
A younger town than 6 of the 7 around it: Walsall
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walsall | 70,777 | — | 35.3 | 14% | 36% |
| Wednesbury | 20,321 | 2 mi | 39.1 | 17% | 33% |
| Darlaston | 21,541 | 2.5 mi | 33.9 | 12% | 40% |
| Rushall and Shelfield | 12,844 | 2.6 mi | 42.7 | 21% | 29% |
| Bloxwich | 51,891 | 2.6 mi | 36.3 | 16% | 35% |
| Willenhall | 49,582 | 2.8 mi | 39.2 | 18% | 32% |
| West Bromwich | 103,099 | 3 mi | 37.9 | 15% | 34% |
| Aldridge | 15,827 | 3.1 mi | 49 | 28% | 25% |
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 Walsall’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. Walsall’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 71,562 people in 2021, against 70,777 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 Walsall’s residents
What is the population of Walsall?
The 2021 Census counted 70,777 people in Walsall’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 76,800 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Walsall?
The median age was 35.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 14% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Walsall?
33% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 56% across West Midlands’ towns. 30% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Walsall?
16% said they had no religion and 30% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 35% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Walsall good for families?
36% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Walsall Ryecroft (50% of households). Schools are on Walsall’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.