Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.019% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 96% of UK towns
People aged 65 and over make up 9.3% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Erlestoke was home to 656 people in 98 households. The census found that three in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership locally. Nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone, a lower share than in 88% of UK towns.
Younger than 87% of UK towns: half of Erlestoke is under 38.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 11%, Erlestoke is ahead of 73% of UK towns on that count. In Mere, the oldest of Wiltshire’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
16% women, 84% men
About 19 women for every 100 men. Across England, 51% of residents are women. A large institution, such as a prison, barracks, boarding school, university or care home, can tilt a town’s split: the census counts the people living there as residents.
Full-time students: 3.6%, a lower share than 93% 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%.
By class, nearly a fifth of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 37% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On residents who moved in within the year, Erlestoke sits higher than 97% of UK towns: 16%. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.
Above 93% of UK towns: 4.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home
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.
In Erlestoke the average household is 2.3 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. Typically, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Below 99% of UK towns: 2.1% of households have no car or van
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
With households in terraced houses at 7.2%, Erlestoke is behind 95% of UK towns on that count. At 34%, the share of households in detached houses is higher than in 63% of UK towns. Households without a car or van: 24% across England’s towns, for comparison.
More residents born outside the UK than 59% of UK towns: 7.3%
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%; Erlestoke has 98%. Residents born abroad were most often born in the Middle East and Asia (2.6%), then in Africa (1.8%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion make up 31% in Erlestoke, less than in 92% 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: 77% of Erlestoke · Wiltshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Nothing unusual on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46%, close to the figure across England’s towns. As a reference point, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British stands at 77%.
A lower share of married adults and civil partners than 99% of UK towns, at 21%
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
In Erlestoke, 4.5% of residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns. Typically, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 24% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 24% of Erlestoke’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification (18%).
Every nearby town is older than Erlestoke
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erlestoke | 656 | — | 38.6 | 9.3% | 19% |
| Littleton Panell | 1,334 | 2.1 mi | 44.9 | 25% | 22% |
| Market Lavington | 1,810 | 2.8 mi | 50.1 | 22% | 25% |
| Potterne | 1,543 | 3.3 mi | 52.5 | 28% | 21% |
| Bratton | 1,172 | 3.7 mi | 52.6 | 29% | 23% |
| Devizes | 19,491 | 5.3 mi | 46.1 | 23% | 25% |
| Bowerhill | 3,976 | 6 mi | 45.4 | 20% | 29% |
| Westbury | 16,394 | 6.5 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 29% |
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 Erlestoke’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 Erlestoke’s residents
What is the population of Erlestoke?
The 2021 Census counted 656 people in Erlestoke’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Erlestoke?
The median age was 38.6 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 9.3% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Erlestoke?
77% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Wiltshire’s towns. 7.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Erlestoke?
31% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 7.5% were Muslim and 11% didn’t answer.
Is Erlestoke good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Erlestoke’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.