Photo: Derek Voller · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents with no religion: 47%, a higher share than 84% of UK towns
The median age in Chippenham is 42.8, lower than in 63% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 36,084 residents in 15,570 households. 15% of households live in a flat or apartment. Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.7%, above 66% of UK towns.
Slower than most: +2% since 2011, behind 76% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Chippenham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 35,900 people in 2011; 36,600 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2022 to mid-2023, up 360 people. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+33%) and 0 to 15 least (−17%).
In Chippenham, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 84% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 8.1% of residents. Lower than in 75% of UK towns: 18% of residents are 65 or over. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In Mere, the oldest of Wiltshire’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Chippenham, 42.8. 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.
Chippenham ranks above 66% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.2%
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Chippenham has 38% and 24%. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%. Residents who moved in within the year: nearly a tenth of the total.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.3 people per household, more than in 53% 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 Chippenham, 29% of households are one person living alone. Here, 28% of households have dependent children.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 51% of UK towns, at 16%
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
At 24%, households in terraced houses sit close to the figure across England’s towns. One household in 6 has no car or van.
Chippenham sits above 73% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (9.9%)
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
Since 2017: 17% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English are rarer here than in 70% of UK towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (4.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.4%).
Chippenham sits below 68% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (89%)
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: 89% of Chippenham · Wiltshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
45% of residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%). After White British, the most common groups are Other White (5%), Mixed or multiple (2.1%) and Indian (0.9%). By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
34% of adults have never married, more than in 58% 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
Unpaid carers make up 8.5%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Set beside that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 729 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week.
34% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Chippenham’s adults: 34% with a degree-level qualification and 14% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
From a median age of 34 in Derry Hill & Hilmarton to 44 in Chippenham South & East
The town’s 5 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Chippenham South & East is the oldest area, with 22% aged 65 or over; Derry Hill & Hilmarton the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Chippenham North (32% of households).
70th oldest of 198 UK towns of 25,000 to 49,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Hatfield (30.3) and the oldest Rustington (56.2). Nearest to Chippenham in age: Rickmansworth (42.7), Camberley (42.7), Worksop (42.9) and Bromsgrove (42.9).
Around Chippenham, 5 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chippenham | 36,084 | — | 42.8 | 18% | 28% |
| Derry Hill and Studley | 1,027 | 3.1 mi | 49.9 | 24% | 33% |
| Corsham | 10,887 | 3.7 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 29% |
| Sutton Benger | 1,270 | 3.9 mi | 47.8 | 20% | 30% |
| Rudloe | 2,863 | 4.8 mi | 42.3 | 21% | 32% |
| Calne | 19,725 | 5.4 mi | 42.6 | 19% | 28% |
| Atworth | 1,293 | 5.5 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 24% |
| Bromham | 1,066 | 5.7 mi | 54.1 | 29% | 18% |
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.
- “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 Chippenham’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. Chippenham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 35,850 people in 2021, against 36,084 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 Chippenham’s residents
What is the population of Chippenham?
The 2021 Census counted 36,084 people in Chippenham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 36,600 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Chippenham?
The median age was 42.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 63% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Chippenham?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Wiltshire’s towns. 9.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Chippenham?
47% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Chippenham good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Chippenham North (32% of households). Schools are on Chippenham’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.