Demography and migration Topic Summary: Headlines

- the estimated population of Dudley on Census Day, 21 March 2021, was 323,495

- 50.8% of the Dudley population is female, 49.2% male

- 18.9% were aged under 16, 60.7% were aged 16 to 64 and 20.4% aged 65 and over

- there were an estimated 69 people aged 100 or over

- 92.1% of the Dudley population were born in the UK

Use the Census maps interactive tool to explore Census 2021 data from the demographics and migration topic summary, or download the datasets from the ONS.

UK armed forces veterans Topic Summary: Headlines

- On Census Day, 21 March 2021, 8,310 people in Dudley indicated they had previously served in the UK armed forces.  This represents 3.2% of the Dudley usual resident population aged 16 and over, compared to 3.8% for England.

- Of the UK armed forces veterans population in Dudley, 2.3% had served in the regular forces only, 0.7% in the reserve forces only, and 0.1% in both the regular and reserve forces

- 8,033 households in Dudley had at least one person who had previously served in the UK armed forces, equating to 5.9% of households in Dudley compared to 7.0% of households in England

You can download the datasets on the UK armed forces veterans topic summary from the ONS.

Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion Topic Summary: Headlines

- 82.4% of the Dudley population identified their ethnic group as White English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British, compared to 88.5% in Census 2011

- The next largest ethnic groups are Pakistani with 4.6% of the population (3.3% in Census 2011), Indian with 2.4% (1.8% in 2011) and Other White with 1.9% (1% in 2011)

- 94.4% of the Dudley population responded that their national identity was British, English or a combination of both

- All adults in 94.5% of Dudley households have English as a main language, compared to 96% in Census 2011

- 2.3% of households have no people with English as a main language (1.4% in 2011)

- 95.6% of the Dudley population aged 3 and over have English as their first or preferred language, compared to 96.8% in Census 2011

- The next most prevalent preferred languages are Urdu with 0.8% of the population (0.8% in Census 2011), Panjabi with 0.7% (0.5% in 2011) and Polish with 0.5% (0.2% in 2011)

- 49.3% of the Dudley population identified their religion as Christian, compared to 65.3% in Census 2011. 36% said they had no religion (22% in Census 2011)

- The next most prevalent religions are Muslim with 6.2% of the population (4.1% in Census 2011), Sikh with 1.6% (1.2% in 2011) and Hindu with 0.7% (0.6% in 2011)

Use the Census maps interactive tool to explore Census 2021 data from the ethnic group, national identity, language and religion topic summary, or download the datasets from the ONS.

Labour market and travel to work Topic Summary: Headlines

- Of the Dudley population aged 16 and over in employment the week before Census day, 21 March 2021, 29.6% worked part-time (30 hours or less a week), very similar to Census 2011 when the figure was 29.9%; 70.4% worked full-time (31 hours or more a week) compared to 70.1% in 2011

-  The three largest occupation groups amongst the Dudley working population were Professional occupations with 16.8%, Skilled trade occupations with 12.4% and Associate professional and technical occupations with 12%

- 58.9% of the Dudley population aged 16 and over were Economically active according to Census 2021, which means that between 15 March and 21 March 2021, they were: in employment (an employee or self-employed); or unemployed, but looking for work and could start within two weeks; or unemployed, but waiting to start a job that had been offered and accepted

- 41.1% of the Dudley population aged 16 and over were Economically inactive so did not have a job between 15 March to 21 March 2021 and had not looked for work between 22 February to 21 March 2021 or could not start work within two weeks - this group includes people who were retired, some students, those looking after home or family, people who were long-term sick or disabled and some other groups

- Of the Dudley population aged 16 and over in employment the week before Census day 21.7% said they worked mainly from home; the Census is a snapshot in time and Census 2021 took place during a national lockdown when the government advice at the time was for people to work from home (if they could) and avoid public transport, so this figure likely reflects this situation

- 57.8% of the Dudley population aged 16 and over in employment the week before Census day travel less than 20km to their place of work

- The most used method of travel to work was driving a car or van as reported by 59% of the Dudley working population, with 5.6% getting to work on foot, 4.9% as a passenger in a car or van and 4.2% by bus, minibus or coach, with 21.7% working mainly from home also being part of this question so indicating no method of transport to work; people who were furloughed (about 5.6 million nationally) were advised to answer the transport to work question based on their previous travel patterns before or during the pandemic, meaning the data may not accurately represent what they were doing on Census Day.

Use the Census maps interactive tool to explore Census 2021 data from the labour market and travel to work topic summary, or download the datasets from the ONS.

Housing Topic Summary: Headlines

- As at Census day, 21 March 2021, almost half (48.4%) of Dudley households lived in semi-detached accommodation, the same percentage as in Census 2011; 21.6% of households were in detached accommodation (21.5% in 2011), 15.4% in terraced housing (16.1% in 2011) and 12% in purpose-built flats or tenements (11.7% in 2011); the remainder were living in converted or shared buildings, commercial buildings, caravans or other mobile or temporary structures

- Results on household tenure show that most Dudley households owned their accommodation, either outright (37.3%) or with a mortgage or loan (29.1%), with the equivalent figures from Census 2011 being 34.9% and 33.7% respectively; 15.4% of households rent from the Local Authority (16.8% in 2011) and 12.1% rent from a private landlord or letting agency (8.4% in 2011), with the remainder of households in other social or private rented accommodation or living rent free

-  82.8% of Dudley households have central heating on mains or tank/bottled gas only (85.1% in Census 2011), 6.4% have electric central heating only (6.9% in 2011) and 8% have two or more types of central heating (3% in 2011); 1.6% of households do not have any form of central heating, down from 3.6% in 2011

-  40.7% of Dudley households have use of 1 car or van, compared to 42.1% in Census 2011; 28.7% of households have 2 cars or vans (26.7% in 2011) and 10.1% have 3 or more (8.1% in 2011); 20.5% of households have no cars or vans, down from 23% in 2o11

Use the Census maps interactive tool to explore Census 2021 data from the housing topic summary, or download the datasets from the ONS.

Sexual orientation and gender identity Topic Summary: Headlines

Questions on sexual orientation and gender identity were asked for the first time in Census 2021.  These questions were voluntary and only asked of people aged 16 years and over.

- 90.7% of Dudley residents aged 16 and over identified as straight or heterosexual, 1.2 as gay or lesbian, 0.8% as bisexual and 0.2% as other sexual orientations; 7% of people did not provide an answer to the question

- 93.7% of Dudley residents aged 16 and over indicated their gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth, 0.2% that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth but with no specific identity given, with each of the gender identities trans woman, trans man and all other gender identities being 0.1%; 5.9% of people did not provide an answer to the question

Use the Census maps interactive tool to explore Census 2021 data from the housing topic summary, or download the datasets from the ONS.

Education Topic Summary; Headlines

- As at Census day, 21 March 2021, 25% of Dudley residents aged 16 and over indicated their highest level of qualification was Level 4 and above; this category includes degree, higher degree, NVQ level 4 to 5, HNC, HND, RSA Higher Diploma, BTEC Higher level and professional qualifications (for example, teaching, nursing, accountancy)

- 10.8% of Dudley residents aged 16 and over have Level 1 and entry level as their highest level of qualification, 15% have Level 2, 6% have Apprenticeships, 17.2% have Level 3 as their highest qualification level and 2.9% have "other" qualifications such as vocational or work-related qualifications

- In Census 2021 the qualifications question was revised and split up to group together different qualifications; as a result the qualifications answers in Census 2021 cannot be fully compared with the answers from Census 2011

- 23.1% of Dudley residents aged 16 and over indicated they had no qualifications, compared to 30% in Census 2011

- Census 2021 shows that 18.9% of Dudley residents aged 5 and over were in full-time education on Census Day, 21 March 2021; this includes schoolchildren and adults in full-time education

Use the Census maps interactive tool to explore Census 2021 data from the housing topic summary, or download the datasets from the ONS.

Health, disability and unpaid care Topic Summary: Headlines

- As at Census day, 21 March 2021, based on people's assessment of their general state of health from very good to very bad 43.8% of Dudley residents said they were in very good health and a further 35.4% that they were in good health; the equivalent figures in Census 2011 were 42.4% and 35.8% respectively

- 4.7% of Dudley residents said they were in bad health and 1.3% that they were in very bad health; in Census 2011 the figures were 5.1% (bad health) and 1.4% (very bad health)

- Census 2021 asked people if they had physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more and if these limited their day-to-day activities; 8.4% of Dudley residents answered that they had a condition and that this limited their day-to-day activities a lot, with a further 10.9% having a condition that limited their activities a little; these two categories combined, 19.3%, meet the definition for measuring disability in line with the Equality Act (2010)

- 6.9% of residents said they had a long term physical or mental health condition but their day-to-day activities are not limited (this category is not defined as disabled under the Equality Act (2010)), and 73.7% had no long term physical or mental health conditions

- 10.3% of  Dudley residents aged 5 and over provide unpaid care by looking after, or giving help or support to, people who have long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses, or problems related to old age; this does not include any activities as part of paid employment

- The 10.3% providing unpaid care is made up of 4.9% who do so for 19 hours or less per week, 2.2% provide 20 to 49 hours unpaid care a week, and 3.2% 50 hours a week or more

Use the Census maps interactive tool to explore Census 2021 data from the housing topic summary, or download the datasets from the ONS.