Photo: David Martin · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 7.6% in Downton, less than in 96% of UK towns
Households with dependent children are rarer here than in 77% of UK towns. Across Downton, one in ten households have no car or van. 2,952 residents in 1,328 households: that is Downton at the 2021 Census. The share of adults who have never married trails 90% of UK towns: 26%.
Downton is older than 79% of UK towns: a median age of 48.9
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.7% of residents. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are common here: 27%, more than in just over four fifths of UK towns. In Mere, the oldest of Wiltshire’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Downton, 48.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A lower share of full-time students than 86% of UK towns, at 3.9%
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%.
By class, nearly two in five adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Nearly one in ten residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 79% of UK towns: 1.8%
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.
The typical household size is 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. One-person households account for 30%. Set beside that, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Downton ranks below 71% of UK towns on households in flats: 7.3%
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 England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%; Downton has 22%. By way of comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Census figures put households in detached houses at 33% in the town.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 66% of UK towns: 98%
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
The share of residents born outside the UK is 6.1%, against 18% across England’s towns. The wider picture: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in Africa (1%).
53% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 68% 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 Downton · Wiltshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 94%, against 73% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Locally, two in five residents said they have no religion.
54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 84% 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 care takes 50 hours a week or more for 56 people. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%. Fewer unpaid carers than in 74% of UK towns: 8.5%.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 37%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
16% of Downton’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 37% have one at degree level (34%).
Among 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people, the 174th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Keele (20.6) and the oldest West Chiltington (63.1). Nearest to Downton in age: Lytchett Matravers (48.8), Farnsfield (48.9), Stalham (49) and Upper Beeding (49).
Nearby, 5 of 7 towns have older populations than Downton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downton | 2,952 | — | 48.9 | 27% | 24% |
| Redlynch and Woodfalls | 2,446 | 1.4 mi | 53.4 | 31% | 24% |
| Whaddon | 2,283 | 3.3 mi | 47.9 | 25% | 25% |
| Fordingbridge | 4,947 | 4.7 mi | 50.1 | 29% | 23% |
| Sandleheath | 1,546 | 5.1 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 26% |
| Salisbury | 47,690 | 6.1 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 26% |
| Alderholt | 2,868 | 6.7 mi | 50.4 | 25% | 27% |
| West Wellow | 1,584 | 7.1 mi | 54.9 | 33% | 22% |
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 Downton’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Downton’s residents
What is the population of Downton?
The 2021 Census counted 2,952 people in Downton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Downton?
The median age was 48.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 79% of UK towns. 7.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Downton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Wiltshire’s towns. 6.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Downton?
40% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Downton good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Downton’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). 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.