West Midlands demographics.
West Midlands · Census 2023 · latest available data
A data-driven statistical profile of West Midlands — town populations, census figures, and key demographic indicators drawn from the latest available official data.
Population
67,736,802
World share: 0.84 %
Median age
40.1
Global rank: #21
Urban population
85.5 %
57,900,076 people
Density
280 / km²
People per km²
Fertility rate
1.57
Births per woman
- 01 / Population
Who lives here, and how that is changing.
Headline population counts, density and household structure, with the six-year growth trend.
- Population basics
- Total population
- 67,736,8022023
- Population density
- 280 / km²UK average
- Yearly change
- 0.34 %227,866
- Urban population
- 85.5 %57,900,076
- Net migration
- 165,790Annual net
- World population
- 0.84 %8,045,311,447
- Population trend
Total resident population in thousands. A rising line means net growth from births and inward migration.
- 02 / Age & gender
The shape of the population pyramid.
Age band distribution split by gender, with dependency and vital statistics.
- Age pyramid
Share of the total population in each age band, split by gender - wide middle bands indicate a strong working-age base.
- Vital statistics
- Median age
- 39.4 yrs40.2 yrs
- Dependency ratio
- 58.456.9
- Male
- 49.3%49.0%
- Female
- 50.7%51.0%
- Aged 65+
- 16.4%18.4%
- 03 / Housing & households
Tenure, dwelling type and household composition.
Census 2021 housing indicators for the area, benchmarked against England.
- Tenure & conditions
- Home ownership
- 61.0%62.5%
- Social rented
- 17.0%17.1%
- Private rented
- 22.0%20.4%
- Overcrowded households
- 6.1%8.4%
- No central heating
- 1.3%1.5%
- Property type mix
Composition of the housing stock by build type, as a share of all dwellings.
- Tenure split
How households occupy their homes - the owned versus rented balance drives local market liquidity.
- 04 / Employment & economy
Where the jobs and the output are.
Labour market headlines and the sector composition of local employment.
- Labour market
- Economically active
- 76.2%75.7%
- Unemployed
- 3.4%3.5%
- Full-time employees
- 42.1%41.6%
- Self-employed
- 11.8%12.4%
- Students (economically active)
- 5.6%5.2%
- Retired
- 20.9%21.6%
- Top employment sectors
Share of total employment by industry - a concentrated profile signals exposure to one sector's cycle.
- 05 / Education & qualifications
Attainment and the local skills base.
School performance and the qualification profile of working-age residents.
- Attainment & schools
- Level 4+ qualification
- 40.2%33.9%
- No qualifications
- 16.0%18.1%
- Apprenticeship
- 5.1%5.3%
- Full-time students 16+
- 8.4%7.9%
- Schoolchildren aged 5–15
- 12.6%12.4%
- Qualification levels
Highest qualification held by residents aged 16+. Level 4+ covers degree-level and above.
- 06 / Health & wellbeing
Life expectancy, access and deprivation.
Population health outcomes alongside primary care capacity and deprivation ranking.
- Health indicators
- Very good health
- 48.6%48.5%
- Good health
- 33.1%33.7%
- Bad or very bad health
- 5.8%5.2%
- Disabled (day-to-day limited)
- 18.2%17.3%
- Provides unpaid care
- 9.1%8.9%
- Life expectancy (male)
- 79.1 yrs79.4 yrs
- Life expectancy (female)
- 82.9 yrs83.1 yrs
- Healthy life expectancy
- 62.4 yrs63.1 yrs
- IMD decile
- 5 of 10-
- Deprivation
5
IMD decile out of 10 (1 = most deprived). The United Kingdom shows variation across regions, with pockets of both high affluence and concentrated deprivation.
- 07 / Ethnicity, language & religion
The cultural make-up of the area.
Census-based breakdowns of ethnic group, country of birth, language and religion.
- Ethnic group
Share of residents by broad census ethnic group.
- Religion
Stated religion at the last census, as a share of residents.
- Origin & language
- Born in the UK
- 83.6%83.2%
- Born outside the UK
- 16.4%16.8%
- English as main language
- 94.2%91.1%
- Cannot speak English well
- 1.4%1.9%
- 08 / Transport & commuting
How people move around.
Commuting modes, journey times, car ownership and network connectivity.
- Mode of travel to work
Primary commute mode for working residents, including those who mainly work from home.
- Network & journey times
- Average commute
- 29 min28 min
- No car or van
- 24.0%23.5%
- 2+ cars or vans
- 34.0%33.1%
- Work mainly from home
- 17.0%21.0%
- Car ownership
Households by number of cars or vans available.
— 09 / Political & administrative
Who governs, and how engaged residents are.
Administrative structure, council tax levels, political control and turnout.
— Governance
- Parliamentary constituencies
- 12
- Council type
- Metropolitan / two-tier
- Council tax (Band D)
- £2,148
- Political control
- Labour majority
- General election turnout
- 62.4%
- Local election turnout
- 31.8%
— 10 / Crime & safety
Recorded crime and its composition.
Police.uk recorded offences, normalised per 1,000 residents and split by offence type.
— Headline rates
- Crime rate per 1,000
- 94.689.7
- Police force
- West Yorkshire Police—
- Year-on-year change
- -2.8%-1.4%
— Crime type breakdown
Share of all recorded offences by category over the last 12 months.
— 11 / Environment & climate
Green space, air quality and climate risk.
Environmental quality indicators and exposure to flooding across the area.
— Environmental indicators
- Green space coverage
- 38.4%40.1%
- NO₂ (annual mean)
- 21 µg/m³18 µg/m³
- PM2.5 (annual mean)
- 9.4 µg/m³9.1 µg/m³
- Area at flood risk
- 6.2%8.0%
- Annual rainfall
- 812 mm838 mm
- Sunshine hours
- 1,4101,493
— 12 / UK Cities
Population of major UK cities.
Top 10 UK cities by population, sourced from the latest available census and administrative data.
| # | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 7,556,900 |
| 2 | Birmingham | 984,333 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 864,122 |
| 4 | Nottingham | 729,977 |
| 5 | Sheffield | 685,368 |
| 6 | Bristol | 617,280 |
| 7 | Glasgow | 591,620 |
| 8 | Leicester | 508,916 |
| 9 | Edinburgh | 464,990 |
| 10 | Leeds | 455,123 |
— 12b / County Towns
Town populations within the county.
Built-up area populations across the 2001, 2011 and 2021 census years.
| # | Town | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | 958,302 | 1,047,931 | 1,121,408 |
| 2 | Coventry | 299,151 | 315,810 | 344,322 |
| 3 | Wolverhampton | 214,080 | 224,601 | 234,015 |
| 4 | Solihull | 100,369 | 104,905 | 107,728 |
| 5 | West Bromwich | 85,840 | 92,234 | 103,112 |
| 6 | Royal Sutton Coldfield | 86,545 | 91,933 | 93,369 |
| 7 | Walsall | 58,868 | 67,276 | 70,778 |
| 8 | Dudley | 55,840 | 59,352 | 64,275 |
| 9 | Halesowen | 55,944 | 58,135 | 60,097 |
| 10 | Stourbridge | 55,035 | 55,981 | 56,935 |
| 11 | Smethwick | 42,280 | 48,591 | 56,338 |
| 12 | Kingswinford | 51,416 | 50,845 | 51,904 |
| 13 | Bloxwich | 47,205 | 47,288 | 51,879 |
| 14 | Willenhall | 44,932 | 47,597 | 49,587 |
| 15 | Tipton | 37,784 | 42,145 | 47,190 |
| 16 | Oldbury | 39,638 | 41,868 | 45,187 |
| 17 | Rowley Regis | 33,252 | 35,241 | 39,041 |
| 18 | Bilston | 26,600 | 29,065 | 34,639 |
| 19 | Brierley Hill | 30,559 | 31,916 | 32,299 |
| 20 | Sedgley | 31,639 | 31,517 | 31,978 |
| 21 | Coseley | 24,180 | 24,575 | 25,210 |
| 22 | Darlaston | 16,976 | 18,803 | 21,545 |
| 23 | Brownhills | 19,727 | 20,272 | 21,232 |
| 24 | Wednesbury | 17,898 | 19,029 | 20,313 |
| 25 | Knowle (/ Dorridge) | 18,328 | 18,816 | 19,314 |
| 26 | Cradley Heath | 15,925 | 17,441 | 18,817 |
| 27 | Streetly | 15,823 | 17,087 | 16,778 |
| 28 | Aldridge | 15,131 | 16,087 | 15,834 |
| 29 | Rushall (/ Shelfield) | 12,414 | 12,474 | 12,844 |
| 30 | Pelsall | 10,524 | 10,589 | 10,449 |
| 31 | Pheasey | 8,700 | 9,136 | 9,490 |
| 32 | Balsall Common | 6,165 | 6,712 | 7,099 |
| 33 | Blackheath | 6,347 | 6,851 | 6,947 |
| 34 | Dickens Heath | 1,642 | 3,992 | 4,793 |
| 35 | Cheswick Green | 2,424 | 2,402 | 2,741 |
| 36 | Meriden | 1,801 | 1,753 | 2,202 |
| 37 | Hockley Heath | 1,621 | 1,749 | 1,898 |
| 38 | Hampton in Arden | 1,655 | 1,678 | 1,866 |
| 39 | Clayhanger | 1,766 | 1,753 | 1,697 |
| 40 | Tidbury Green | 732 | 720 | 1,554 |
| 41 | Millison's Wood | 603 | 633 | 644 |
| 42 | Catherine-de-Barnes | 484 | 613 | 627 |
— 13 / English Regions
Regional population comparison.
Population figures for English regions across the 2001, 2011 and 2021 census years.
| Region | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 4,172,174 | 4,533,222 | 4,880,054 |
| East of England | 5,388,140 | 5,846,965 | 6,335,074 |
| North East England | 2,515,442 | 2,596,886 | 2,647,013 |
| North West England | 6,729,764 | 7,052,177 | 7,417,397 |
| South East England | 8,000,645 | 8,634,750 | 9,278,065 |
| South West England | 4,928,434 | 5,288,935 | 5,701,186 |
| West Midlands | 5,267,308 | 5,601,847 | 5,950,757 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4,964,833 | 5,283,733 | 5,480,777 |
— Data sources
- ONS — population, age, ethnicity, housing
- Nomis — employment, earnings, qualifications
- Census 2021 (Nomis) — area vs England comparisons
- Police.uk — crime data
- MHCLG — Index of Multiple Deprivation
- Postcodes.io / GeoNames — boundary mapping