Photo: Roger D Kidd · CC BY-SA 2.054% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 97% of UK towns
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van in Wolverhampton comes in at 28%. In 2021, the Census found 234,029 residents locally, living in 93,388 households. The census found that nearly a third of households have dependent children here. More households in flats than in 84% of UK towns: 20%.
What the Census says about Wolverhampton’s people
More born abroad than most towns
23% 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 (11%) and in EU countries (6.4%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
46% 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 (16%), Other White (5.8%) and Mixed or multiple (5.2%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Wolverhampton’s residents are under 38.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 17% 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 +11% change since 2011: faster than 63% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wolverhampton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 226,100 people in 2011; 250,000 in 2024.
Change by age ran from +20% for the 0 to 15 to −2% for the 16 to 29. No year added more people than mid-2022 to mid-2023: 5,660.
A median age of 38.9: Wolverhampton is younger than 86% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Nothing unusual on residents aged 15 to 24: 12%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Across Wolverhampton, 17% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wolverhampton, 38.9. 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.
Full-time students: 8.3%, a higher share than 94% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 24% of Wolverhampton’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 31%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%. Residents who moved in within the year account for 8.7%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.5 people per household, more than in 87% 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 shared households of unrelated adults tops 83% of UK towns: 3.3%. One-person households account for 31%.
Fewer detached houses than 80% of UK towns: 18% of households
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
In Wolverhampton, 16% of households live in a terraced house, beside 24% across England’s towns. The wider picture: just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
In Wolverhampton, 23% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 95% 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
The share of residents whose main language is English trails 96% of UK towns: 85%. The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (11%) and in EU countries (6.4%).
Only 27% of residents said they have no religion in Wolverhampton
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: 54% of Wolverhampton · West Midlands’ towns 56% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Indian (16%), Other White (5.8%) and Mixed or multiple (5.2%). Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in just over four fifths of UK towns. As a yardstick, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Adults who have never married: 39%, a higher share than 88% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 6,528 residents. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 43% here, fewer than in four fifths of UK towns. Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 9.3%, from the figure across England’s towns.
27% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 27% of its adults qualified to degree level, Wolverhampton compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 25% hold no qualification (18%). A levels top the qualifications of 15%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
From a median age of 30 in Waterloo Road to 50 in Wombourne Outer, Swindon & Seisdon
The city’s 33 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Wombourne Outer, Swindon & Seisdon is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Waterloo Road the youngest (median age 30). Families with children are most common in Low Hill (47% of households).
47 UK towns of 164,000 to 316,000 people: this is the 11th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.8 in Tower Hamlets to 42.6 in Sunderland. Nearest to Wolverhampton in age: Stoke-on-Trent (38.4), Kingston upon Thames (38.6), Swansea (38.9) and Bournemouth (39.1).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Wolverhampton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolverhampton | 234,029 | — | 38.9 | 17% | 32% |
| Bilston | 34,631 | 2.8 mi | 35.3 | 14% | 36% |
| Perton | 9,302 | 3.4 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Willenhall | 49,582 | 3.4 mi | 39.2 | 18% | 32% |
| Coseley | 25,206 | 3.7 mi | 42 | 20% | 29% |
| Essington | 3,471 | 3.7 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 30% |
| Featherstone | 7,096 | 3.9 mi | 36.5 | 12% | 29% |
| Codsall | 11,867 | 3.9 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 28% |
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 Wolverhampton’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. Wolverhampton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 235,340 people in 2021, against 234,029 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 Wolverhampton’s residents
What is the population of Wolverhampton?
The 2021 Census counted 234,029 people in Wolverhampton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 250,000 people in mid-2024, 11% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wolverhampton?
The median age was 38.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 86% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wolverhampton?
54% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 56% across West Midlands’ towns. 23% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wolverhampton?
27% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 5.9% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Wolverhampton good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Low Hill (47% of households). Schools are on Wolverhampton’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.