Photo: My another account at en.wikipedia · Public domain23% of households are one person living alone, below 94% of UK towns
8.4% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Bowerhill had 3,976 residents and 1,617 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 45.4 (older than 57% of UK towns). Here, 46% of households live in a detached house. At 44%, the share of residents with no religion is higher than in 71% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Bowerhill’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Bowerhill at 2,900 in 2011 and 4,500 in 2024, up 54%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 98% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Growth of +54% since 2011 puts Bowerhill ahead of 98% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bowerhill’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,900 people in 2011; 4,500 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+153%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (+32%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2022 to mid-2023, 310 people.
Residents aged 65 and over: 20%, a lower share than 67% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24; in Bowerhill, 11%. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The median age here is 45.4, higher than in 57% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bowerhill, 45.4. 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.
A larger share of residents who moved in within the year than 70% of UK towns: 9.8%
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%.
Full-time students make up 4.9%, against 7.9% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Bowerhill 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 Wiltshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Bowerhill, 2.5%. For Bowerhill, the census puts households with dependent children at 29%.
Households in flats make up 6.3% in Bowerhill, less than in 76% 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
Across Bowerhill, 21% of households live in a terraced house. Households in flats: 23% across England’s towns, for comparison.
98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 65% 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 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1%). Across the comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 7.6% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 94%, a higher share than 62% 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: 94% of Bowerhill · Wiltshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Nearly half of residents describe themselves as Christian; across England’s towns the figure is 46%. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns: 73%. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.6%), Mixed or multiple (2.1%) and African (0.4%).
54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 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
Here 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 39%. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. Across Bowerhill, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 27% of adults in Bowerhill (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 13% (England’s towns: 18%).
530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people: this is the 213th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Milford on Sea (64.6), the oldest. Nearest to Bowerhill in age: Welwyn (45.4), North Weald Bassett (45.4), Wilton (45.4) and Cuckfield (45.4).
Bowerhill is younger than 5 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowerhill | 3,976 | — | 45.4 | 20% | 29% |
| Berryfield | 1,094 | 1 mi | 45.7 | 23% | 26% |
| Melksham | 18,277 | 1.2 mi | 42.8 | 21% | 28% |
| Holt | 1,704 | 3.2 mi | 49.9 | 27% | 26% |
| Bromham | 1,066 | 3.7 mi | 54.1 | 29% | 18% |
| Atworth | 1,293 | 4.1 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 24% |
| Trowbridge | 43,753 | 4.4 mi | 41.4 | 18% | 29% |
| Bradford-on-Avon | 9,864 | 5.5 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 24% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Wiltshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Wiltshire (or England), summed the same way as Bowerhill’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. Bowerhill’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,603 people in 2021, against 3,976 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 Bowerhill’s residents
What is the population of Bowerhill?
The 2021 Census counted 3,976 people in Bowerhill’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,500 people in mid-2024, 54% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bowerhill?
The median age was 45.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 57% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bowerhill?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Wiltshire’s towns. 6.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bowerhill?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Bowerhill good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bowerhill’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. 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.