Photo: John M · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 84% of UK towns: half of Willenhall is under 39.2
Households with dependent children: 32%, above 86% of UK towns. Few places have as many households in flats: 17% here, more than in 76% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put Willenhall’s population at 49,582, in 20,058 households. The census found that 16% of households live in a detached house in the town.
A +8% change since 2011: Willenhall grew faster than 54% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Willenhall’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 47,900 people in 2011; 52,000 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+23%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (−3%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2022 to mid-2023: 790 people.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11% in Willenhall, more than in 85% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
30–34 is the most common age band: 7.2% of residents. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in 77% of UK towns: 18%. In Aldridge, the oldest of West Midlands’ towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Willenhall, 39.2. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Only 6.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Willenhall
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%.
The share of full-time students is 6.2%, against 7.9% across England’s towns. For comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Willenhall households average 2.5 people, larger than in 85% 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.
The share of one-person households trails two thirds of UK towns: 28%. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.3%.
24% of households have no car or van, more than in 85% 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
Fewer households in terraced houses than in 51% of UK towns: 20%. In one household in 4 there is no car or van.
In Willenhall, 12% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 80% 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
92% of residents have English as their main language (England’s towns: 90%). On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (6.2%) or in EU countries (3.6%).
35% of residents said they have no religion, below 83% 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: 74% of Willenhall · West Midlands’ towns 56% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 73% across England’s towns, 74% of residents describe themselves as White British here. The usual figure: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Indian (9.6%), Mixed or multiple (4.1%) and Other White (3.3%).
A larger share of adults who have never married than 84% of UK towns: 38%
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
On married adults and civil partners, 44% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Typically, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 9.8% of residents give unpaid care.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 20%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Willenhall, 20% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 28% have no qualification at all (18%). The highest qualification of 16% is A levels, often students still at university.
From a median age of 30 in Darlaston East to 45 in Short Heath East
The town’s 8 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Short Heath East is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Darlaston East the youngest (median age 30). Families with children are most common in Darlaston East (47% of households).
Of 132 UK towns its size (35,000 to 67,000 people), the 35th youngest
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 54.4 in Lytham St Anne's. Nearest to Willenhall in age: Middleton (38.9), Andover (38.9), Warwick (39.2) and Eastleigh (39.2).
1 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Willenhall
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willenhall | 49,582 | — | 39.2 | 18% | 32% |
| Darlaston | 21,541 | 2.1 mi | 33.9 | 12% | 40% |
| Bloxwich | 51,891 | 2.2 mi | 36.3 | 16% | 35% |
| Essington | 3,471 | 2.3 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 30% |
| Bilston | 34,631 | 2.5 mi | 35.3 | 14% | 36% |
| Walsall | 70,777 | 2.8 mi | 35.3 | 14% | 36% |
| Wednesbury | 20,321 | 2.9 mi | 39.1 | 17% | 33% |
| Wolverhampton | 234,029 | 3.4 mi | 38.9 | 17% | 32% |
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 Willenhall’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. Willenhall’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 49,928 people in 2021, against 49,582 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 Willenhall’s residents
What is the population of Willenhall?
The 2021 Census counted 49,582 people in Willenhall’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 52,000 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Willenhall?
The median age was 39.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 84% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Willenhall?
74% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 56% across West Midlands’ towns. 12% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Willenhall?
35% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.2% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Willenhall good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Darlaston East (47% of households). Schools are on Willenhall’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.