2021 Census sees population boom in city’s commuter belt

MARKET towns in the leafy counties surrounding Birmingham have seen huge booms in their population compared to the city itself, the first figures released from the 2021 Census have revealed.

On Census Day last year, the population of England was 56,489,800 – a rise of 3.5 million compared to the previous census in 2011.

Birmingham saw a similar rise and the city still has the highest population of all 309 local authority areas in England. London is divided in to several authorities.

However, areas around Birmingham such as Rugby and Wychavon in Worcestershire are seeing rates of population growth of around double those of the Second City. The figures also revealed the population has continued to age.

Across England, more than one in six people (18.4%) were aged 65 years and over on Census Day in 2021, the highest percentage on record.

It is a similar story in the West Midlands. In 2011, the largest age group in the region was those aged 40 to 44 years. Ten years later, it is those aged 50 to 54 years.

This suggests the region has an older population compared to England overall, where the largest age group in 2021 was people aged 30 to 34 years.

Birmingham also saw an increase of just 4.1% in children aged under 15 years – this was compared to a 5% increase for England as a whole.

However, the city saw a 7.1% rise in people aged 15 to 64 years, which is higher than England’s increase of just 3.6%.

Nationally, the places that have seen the largest increases in population aged 65 years and over are Milton Keynes, which has seen 43.6% growth, and Harborough in the East Midlands (38.5%).

The 2021 survey was carried out on March 21 last year and came against the backdrop of the pandemic as well as Brexit, which has seen restrictions on immigration.

In Birmingham, the population size has increased by 6.7%, from around 1,073,000 in 2011 to 1,144,900 in 2021. This is slightly higher than the overall increase for England, where the population grew by nearly 3.5 million to 56,489,800 or 6.6%.

Commuter towns, such as

Sandwell and Bromsgrove, saw their populations increase by around 11% and 5.9% respectively while others saw smaller growth – Solihull saw an increase of 4.6% while Dudley’s population rose by just 3.4%.

However, the largest population increases in the West Midlands were seen elsewhere.

Rugby’s population rose by 14.3% while Wychavon in Worcestershire, which includes the towns of Evesham, Droitwich and Pershore, has seen a growth of 13.3%.

It is perhaps not a surprise these leafy areas in Worcestershire have become more and more popular over the past decade.

The Georgian market town of Pershore was recently named the best place in the West Midlands to live, beating the likes of Solihull, Sutton

Coldfield and cosmopolitan Birmingham.

At the other end of the scale, Staffordshire Moorlands saw a population fall of 1.3% – one of few areas in the region which saw their population drop.

As of 2021, Birmingham is the most densely populated of the West Midlands’ 30 local authority areas, with around 31 people living on each football pitch-sized area of land.

Tower Hamlets in London is the most densely populated local authority area in England – it now has the equivalent of around 112 people ‘per pitch’.

Across England, more than one in six people (18.4%) were aged 65 years and over on Census Day in 2021, which is the highest percentage on record.