Photo: My another account · CC BY-SA 3.0Melksham ranks above 84% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 47%
Half of Melksham’s residents are under 42.8, younger than in 63% of UK towns. Here, 24% of households live in a detached house. The town counted 18,277 residents and 7,866 households at the 2021 Census. Against a figure of 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Melksham comes in at 2.6%.
Growth of +15% since 2011 puts Melksham ahead of 75% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Melksham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 16,200 people in 2011; 18,600 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+33%); the 0 to 15 group moved least (+4%). Between mid-2013 and mid-2014 the population rose by 430, its biggest one-year gain.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 55% of UK towns: 21%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 7.3% of residents. To put it in context, 18% of residents are 65 or over 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+
■ Melksham, 42.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 4.1% of adults are full-time students in Melksham
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%.
8.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Larger households than 56% of UK towns: 2.3 people on average
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.
Households with dependent children: 28% of the total. One-person households: 30%, near enough the figure across England’s towns.
Households in flats: 12%, a higher share than 58% 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
24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns, against 15% in Melksham. Typically, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Across Melksham, just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house.
Residents whose main language is English make up 97% in Melksham, less than in 60% 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 (3.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%). The usual figure: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born outside the UK make up 7.2%, against 18% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 45%, a lower share than 77% 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: 92% of Melksham · Wiltshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (3.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and Bangladeshi (0.4%). Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%. Here 92% of residents describe themselves as White British, where the figure across England’s towns is 73%.
Only 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Melksham
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
On unpaid carers, 8.9% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. 460 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week.
Degree-level qualifications reach 24% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 24% of its adults qualified to degree level, Melksham compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 18% hold no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 34 in Bowerhill, Atworth & Whitley to 47 in Melksham South
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Melksham South is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Bowerhill, Atworth & Whitley the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Bowerhill, Atworth & Whitley (43% of households).
Of 325 UK towns its size (13,000 to 25,000 people), the 126th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Melksham in age: North Hykeham (42.8), South Woodham Ferrers (42.8), Farnham (42.8) and Ash and Ash Vale (42.9).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 6 are older than Melksham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melksham | 18,277 | — | 42.8 | 21% | 28% |
| Berryfield | 1,094 | 1.1 mi | 45.7 | 23% | 26% |
| Bowerhill | 3,976 | 1.2 mi | 45.4 | 20% | 29% |
| Holt | 1,704 | 3.1 mi | 49.9 | 27% | 26% |
| Atworth | 1,293 | 3.1 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 24% |
| Bromham | 1,066 | 3.6 mi | 54.1 | 29% | 18% |
| Corsham | 10,887 | 4.7 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 29% |
| Trowbridge | 43,753 | 4.9 mi | 41.4 | 18% | 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 Melksham’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. Melksham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 18,344 people in 2021, against 18,277 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 Melksham’s residents
What is the population of Melksham?
The 2021 Census counted 18,277 people in Melksham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 18,600 people in mid-2024, 15% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Melksham?
The median age was 42.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 63% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Melksham?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Wiltshire’s towns. 7.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Melksham?
47% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Melksham good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Bowerhill, Atworth & Whitley (43% of households). Schools are on Melksham’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.