Wrexham

Wales · Wales
Location map showing Wrexham highlighted against neighbouring local authorities.
-16.5pp WBI 90.7% → 74.2% by 2051 (v2, SNPP-constrained, bias-corrected)
135,122 Population (2021 Census)
90.7% White British (2021)
80.0% -10.7pp White British (2041 projected)
74.2% -16.5pp White British (2051 projected)

Ethnic composition trajectory

Census 2011 and 2021 observed, Hamilton-Perry projections to 2061. Shaded band shows 80% confidence interval for White British share.

Ethnic composition, Wrexham

0 25 49 74 98 % Census 2021 White British 74% White Other 10% Asian 7% Black 3% Mixed 3% 20112021203120412051
White British White Other Asian Black Mixed 80% CI

Ethnic composition: Wrexham

Census 2011, Census 2021, then Hamilton-Perry projections to 2051. Percentages.

2011
93%
2021
91%
2026 proj
88%
2031 proj
86%
2036 proj
83%
2041 proj
80%
9%
2046 proj
77%
10%
2051 proj
74%
10%
White British White Other Asian Black Mixed Other

Two-model comparison: White British, 2051

±0.0pp spread
Hamilton-Perry (HP) central 74.2% Cohort change ratios from Census 2011 to 2021. Demographic momentum only, no fertility convergence.
Cohort-component 74.2% Births by ethnicity-specific total fertility rate (TFR) with half-convergence to the national mean by 2061. Slower change.

Two independent models trained on the same Census base disagree by 0.0pp on White British share in Wrexham by 2051. HP captures observed 2011 to 2021 cohort dynamics. The cohort-component model adds explicit fertility assumptions that pull projections toward the national mean. The chart above shows HP. See the methodology for why both numbers are published.

What’s driving change

Shift-share splits the change in White British share into national trend, age structure, and local factors. Dominant driver: national trend.

Why Wrexham is changing

-2.4pp
National trend
-6.4pp
Age structure
-1pp
Local migration
+5.1pp

White British change 2011–2021. Cyan = decline. Amber = growth.

Diversity index

low diversity Shannon entropy: 0.24 · Dissimilarity: 16.2

Religion

Census 2021 religious composition with projections to 2051.

Religious composition trajectory

0 22 44 65 87 % Census 2021 Christian 13% No religion 82% Muslim 3% 2021203120412051
Christian No religion Muslim

Country of birth

UK-born vs foreign-born share, with projection to 2051.

Nativity trajectory

3 26 50 74 97 % Census 2021 UK-born 72% Foreign-born 28% 2021203120412051
UK-born Foreign-born

English proficiency

Census 2021

Main language English94.9%
Main language not English5.1%
Cannot speak English well1.1%
Cannot speak English at all0.2%
Total population 3+131,084

ONS Census 2021 (TS029) via NOMIS. Reference date 21 March 2021.

Projection

Projected non-English growth +10.7pp

Interpreter demand is manageable at current levels.

Service demand pressure

31/100 Low Pressure Rank 206 of 320
Ethnic change16/20
Asylum5/20
School0/20
Language0/20
Housing10/20

Arrivals over the last 24 years

Annual NINo registrations to adults from overseas in Wrexham from 2002 to 2025, alongside the UK total for context. The peak year was 2005 (1,308 registrations). Total over the full period: 16,247 registrations.

03276549811,308 0k268k537k805k1073k 200220052010201520202025 peak 2005 (1,308) low 2002 (161) Wrexham (annual) UK (annual)

DWP Stat-Xplore, NINO Registrations to Adult Overseas Nationals Entering the UK (Ninos cube), aggregated per calendar year by summing the four constituent quarters. Geography: ONS LA codes. Counts are NEW NINo registrations per calendar year. A NINo is issued once per person at the point of first work or claim, so this is a flow measure, not a stock. People who arrive but never register (some students, dependants, retirees) are excluded. Late registrations show in a later year than the year of arrival. Pre-2010 figures used a different administrative system; series is comparable but small methodological revisions to the early years are possible.

Who is arriving

Age and sex profile of 502 NINo registrations to adults from overseas in Wrexham in 2025. National comparison shown alongside.

Age at registration

Less than 18 6.6%
18-24 30.7%
25-29 24.9%
30-34 18.9%
35-39 10.6%
40-44 7.0%
45-49 1.4%

Wrexham   UK marker

Sex

Male 47.0% Female 53.0%

Male share is 7.4pp lower than the UK average (54.4%).

DWP Stat-Xplore Ninos cube, LA × Age band × Sex, rolling year ending Q4 2025 (Jan-Dec 2025 calendar year). Counts are NEW NINo registrations to adult overseas nationals. Age is age at NINo registration, not age at arrival. The registration may follow arrival by months. 'Less than 18' is rare in this dataset because the published Ninos series is filtered to adult overseas nationals; values reflect young workers/claimants close to 18. 'Unknown' age is a small residual.

How Wrexham changed: 2011 to 2021

Two snapshots from two consecutive Censuses, ten years apart. Population changed from 134,844 in 2011 to 135,119 in 2021 (+0.2%). Non-UK-born residents went from 8,468 (6.3% of population) to 10,643 (7.9%).

Group 2011 2021 Change
UK-born 126,376 93.7% 124,476 92.1% -1,900
Ireland-born 417 0.3% 333 0.2% -84
EU pre-2001 (France, Germany, Italy, etc.) 1,380 1% 1,550 1.1% +170
EU 2001-2011 accession (Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, etc.) 3,166 2.3% 4,935 3.7% +1,769
Rest of World 3,505 2.6% 3,825 2.8% +320

Source: ONS Census 2011 KS204EW (NOMIS NM_611_1) and Census 2021 TS012 (NOMIS NM_2032_1), aligned to broad country-of-birth groups. 2011 data uses 2011 LA boundaries; 2021 data uses 2023 boundaries. LAs whose ONS code changed between Censuses (Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, North Yorkshire, Somerset reorganisations) are not in this comparison.

Wales labour market

Payrolled employments in the Wales region (December 2024). Provides Wrexham with regional context. Local-authority RTI is not published; the region is the smallest geography for HMRC's nationality breakdown.

Total employments1,386,800
Non-UK share9.7%
5-year change · Non-EU +53,200
5-year change · EU -6,400

Top industries by non-UK share (Wales)

Administrative and support services 18.4%
Accommodation and food service activities 16.8%
Health and social work 13.8%
Manufacturing 11.8%
Transportation and storage 11.4%

Source: HMRC Real Time Information via ONS, payrolled employments by region and industrial sector, July 2014 to December 2024. Counts are employments not employees; suppressed cells appear as missing.

Health by ethnic group

Share reporting "not good health" in each of Wrexham's largest ethnic groups, Census 2021.

White 20.9%
White: English 21.4%
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller 11.1%

ONS Census 2021 (RM043 - General health by ethnic group by age) via NOMIS. All ages, no age-standardisation: younger ethnic-group populations will show lower rates partly because they're younger, not necessarily because they're healthier. Group labels shortened for display.

How NHS care for overseas residents is funded (national context)

Most non-UK residents in Wrexham pay for NHS care up-front through the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which is added to most visa applications. Asylum seekers, refugees, ILR holders and Irish citizens are exempt. Visitors and undocumented residents are charged at 150% of the national NHS tariff. The figures below are England + Wales national totals; per-LA NHS cost-recovery is not centrally published.

Current IHS rate (adult, per year) £1,035
IHS rate, students/under-18s (per year) £776
IHS revenue 2024/25 (£m) £1,315.6m
Cumulative IHS revenue 2015–2024 £6.9bn
IHS rate history
  • From 2015-04-06: £200/year adult, £150/year students/under-18s
  • From 2019-01-08: £400/year adult, £300/year students/under-18s
  • From 2020-10-27: £624/year adult, £470/year students/under-18s
  • From 2024-02-06: £1035/year adult, £776/year students/under-18s
Indicative charges for visitors and undocumented residents

Maternity care is classified as "immediately necessary": it cannot be refused or delayed for charging, but it is invoiced afterwards at 150% of the NHS national tariff.

  • Routine vaginal delivery, no complications: £3,000–£5,500
  • Caesarean section: £5,000–£7,500
  • Premature birth with NICU stay: £15,000–£30,000+
  • Antenatal appointment: £150–£400 each

Sources: NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 (as amended); Home Office IHS caseworker guidance (Sept 2025); House of Commons Library briefing CBP-7274; NHS England NHS Payment Scheme (national tariff). Approximately 80% of identified overseas-visitor debt across all NHS treatment is uncollected (NAO, follow-up scrutiny).

Economic profile

Avg employment rate57.3%
Avg home ownership60.8%
Avg social rent20.4%
Degree or above28.2%
No qualifications20.3%

Housing

Composition today

How dwellings in Wrexham are occupied. Single-person households and houses in multiple occupation are the two cleanest signals.

HMO dwellings (Census 2021)74
HMOs per 1,000 population0.55

Sources: MHCLG Council Taxbase 2024 (CTB1, snapshot 7 October 2024) for single-person discount; ONS Census 2021 RM192 for HMO dwellings. HMO Census numbers reflect dwellings classified as HMO on Census Day; current licensing registers held by individual councils are not centrally published.

Tenure by ethnic group

Household ownership rates for Wrexham's largest ethnic groups, Census 2021.

White: owned 63.5%
White: English: owned 65.0%
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller: owned 33.1%

ONS Census 2021 (RM134 - Tenure by ethnic group, Household Reference Persons) via NOMIS. Group labels shortened for display.

Tenure projection

Census 2021 tenure patterns by ethnicity, projected to 2041 from demographic composition change.

Ownership (2021)60.8%
Social rent (2021)20.4%
Private rent (2021)15.9%
Ownership (2041)56.4%
Social rent (2041)19.6%
Social rent change-0.8pp

High foreign-born population growth will drive additional housing demand, particularly in the private rented sector.

Westminster constituencies

Parliamentary constituencies overlapping Wrexham, sorted by share of LA postcodes the constituency covers.

Updated 14 Apr 2026 · Census 2021, ONS SNPP, DfE School Census