Photo: Vieve Forward · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 50.3: Wroughton is older than 86% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house; in Wroughton, 14%. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 7,276, in 3,170 households. Here, 26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. At 55%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is higher than in 78% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Wroughton’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Wroughton’s residents are under 50.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. 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.
Growth of +17% since 2011 puts Wroughton ahead of 80% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wroughton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 6,400 people in 2011; 7,500 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2023 to mid-2024, 460 people. Growth was strongest among the 30 to 44 (+27%) and weakest among the 45 to 64 (+4%).
29% of residents are 65 or over, a share 88% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 7.8% of residents. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 67% of UK towns: 9.2%. In Mere, the oldest of Wiltshire’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wroughton, 50.3. 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.
7.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 68% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 37% of Wroughton’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 23%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The town has fewer full-time students than 63% of UK towns, at 4.5%. The usual figure: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Fewer families than 69% of UK towns: 25% of households have children
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 in Wroughton hold 2.3 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). Across England’s towns, households with dependent children come to 29%.
Below 62% of UK towns: 25% of households live in a detached house
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
14% of households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%). Households in detached houses: 21% across England’s towns, for comparison. Census figures put households in flats at 9.3% in Wroughton.
6.8% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 54% of UK towns don’t reach
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: just over a tenth of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns. Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.1%).
A lower White British share than 52% of UK towns: 92% of residents
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 Wroughton · Wiltshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (1.3%). The wider picture: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Fewer residents with no religion than in 71% of UK towns: 37%.
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 81% of UK towns: 53%
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 giving 50 hours or more a week: 214. As a yardstick, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Wroughton has more unpaid carers than 69% of UK towns, at 10%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 30% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Wroughton’s adults: 30% with a degree-level qualification and 17% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Of 538 UK towns its size (5,000 to 10,000 people), the 78th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.9 in Red Lodge to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Wroughton in age: Cockermouth (50.3), Blythe Bridge and Forsbrook (50.3), Kinmel Bay (50.3) and Llantwit Major (50.3).
Older than Wroughton: 1 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wroughton | 7,276 | — | 50.3 | 29% | 25% |
| Chiseldon | 2,033 | 2.6 mi | 51 | 27% | 24% |
| Swindon | 183,687 | 3.1 mi | 38.1 | 14% | 33% |
| Stratton St Margaret | 20,689 | 4.1 mi | 46 | 22% | 25% |
| Wanborough | 1,737 | 4.2 mi | 48 | 19% | 30% |
| Royal Wootton Bassett | 13,002 | 4.7 mi | 45.7 | 23% | 27% |
| Purton | 3,193 | 5.5 mi | 49.3 | 24% | 24% |
| Broad Blunsdon | 6,507 | 5.9 mi | 38.6 | 14% | 39% |
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 Wroughton’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. Wroughton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,626 people in 2021, against 7,276 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 Wroughton’s residents
What is the population of Wroughton?
The 2021 Census counted 7,276 people in Wroughton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 7,500 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wroughton?
The median age was 50.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 86% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wroughton?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Wiltshire’s towns. 6.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wroughton?
37% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Wroughton good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wroughton’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. 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.