Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 89% of UK towns: half of Swindon is under 38.1
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%; Swindon has 70%. Compared with other places, households in terraced houses are common here: 32%, more than in 86% of UK towns. The city had 183,687 residents in 74,674 households at the 2021 Census. 20% of households live in a flat or apartment.
What the Census says about Swindon’s people
More born abroad than most towns
23% of residents were born outside the UK, against 14% across Wiltshire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (11%) and in EU countries (6.8%). Where people were born ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Swindon’s residents are under 38.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
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.
+17% since 2011, a pace 79% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Swindon’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 163,100 people in 2011; 190,400 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+36%) and 16 to 29 least (−1%). Between mid-2022 and mid-2023 the population rose by 3,410, its biggest one-year gain.
14% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 30–34: 8% of residents. Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in 77% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 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+
■ Swindon, 38.1. 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.
Above 71% of UK towns: 5.4% of adults are full-time students
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%.
In Swindon, 31% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 29% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The city has more residents who moved in within the year than 81% of UK towns, at 11%. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
In Swindon, 33% of households have dependent children, more than in 88% 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.
29% of households are one person living alone (England’s towns: 30%). Shared households of unrelated adults account for 3.7%.
21% of households have no car or van, a share 76% of UK towns don’t reach
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
The share of households in detached houses trails 75% of UK towns: 20%. At the same time, in one household in 5 there is no car or van, the 2nd highest share in Wiltshire.
A larger share of residents born outside the UK than 95% of UK towns: 23%
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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The share of residents whose main language is English is 88%, against 90% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (11%) and in EU countries (6.8%).
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 76% of UK towns, at 45%
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: 70% of Swindon · Wiltshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Indian (9.1%), Other White (8.1%) and Mixed or multiple (3%). By way of comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, against 41% in Swindon.
In Swindon, 36% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 70% 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
Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 8%, close to the figure across England’s towns. For comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 4,172 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week.
Among adults, 28% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Swindon’s adults: 28% with a degree-level qualification and 18% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
From a median age of 31 in Broad Blunsdon, South Marston & Wanborough to 51 in Haydon Wick
The city’s 26 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Haydon Wick is the oldest area, with 27% aged 65 or over; Broad Blunsdon, South Marston & Wanborough the youngest (median age 31). Families with children are most common in Lydiard Millicent & Purton (55% of households).
Of 40 UK towns its size (129,000 to 248,000 people), the 17th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.9 in Cambridge to 44.6 in Poole. Nearest to Swindon in age: Huddersfield (37.7), Norwich (37.9), Kingston upon Thames (38.6) and Wolverhampton (38.9).
The towns around Swindon are all older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swindon | 183,687 | — | 38.1 | 14% | 33% |
| Stratton St Margaret | 20,689 | 2 mi | 46 | 22% | 25% |
| Broad Blunsdon | 6,507 | 2.8 mi | 38.6 | 14% | 39% |
| Wroughton | 7,276 | 3.1 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 25% |
| Purton | 3,193 | 3.7 mi | 49.3 | 24% | 24% |
| Wanborough | 1,737 | 4.4 mi | 48 | 19% | 30% |
| Chiseldon | 2,033 | 4.6 mi | 51 | 27% | 24% |
| Royal Wootton Bassett | 13,002 | 4.8 mi | 45.7 | 23% | 27% |
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 Swindon’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. Swindon’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 182,469 people in 2021, against 183,687 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 Swindon’s residents
What is the population of Swindon?
The 2021 Census counted 183,687 people in Swindon’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 190,400 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Swindon?
The median age was 38.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 89% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Swindon?
70% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Wiltshire’s towns. 23% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Swindon?
41% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.2% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Swindon good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Lydiard Millicent & Purton (55% of households). Schools are on Swindon’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.