St Albans is home to well-qualified families in their middle years who own their house and have no intention of selling it. Two-thirds own their homes. More than half the adults have a degree. The typical resident is about 40. The students left with the law school, and the parents stayed.
The 2021 census is the source for the population figures on this page, and it counts about 76,400 people in St Albans across about 30,700 households. About 67% of households own their home, about 19% rent privately and about 13% rent from a council or housing association. With ownership at that level, a For Sale board on a street in Marshalswick or Bernards Heath tends to get the neighbours talking before it gets a viewing.
The typical resident is 40, and about 28% of people are aged 25 to 44, the years of mortgages, nurseries and school applications. This is a city in the thick of family life, where the busiest hour of the day is the school run, and the second busiest is the walk back from it.
Income is high. The Office for National Statistics models median household income across the area at about £79,700 a year before tax, for the financial year to March 2023. That is a gross figure modelled from survey and tax data, three years old, and it sounds healthier than the take-home that pays a St Albans mortgage.
Families set the tone of the households. About 28% are couples with dependent children and about 9% are lone parents. About 27% are one person living alone, and within that, about 11% of all households are a pensioner on their own. That last group is the one most likely to be sitting in a large family house the next generation would very much like to buy.
The qualification mix leans heavily academic. About 57% of adults hold a degree or equivalent, about 10% have no formal qualifications, and only about 2% are full-time students. The University of Hertfordshire moved its law school out of Hatfield Road to Hatfield in 2011, and a primary school moved into the building, which is about as clear a statement of who the city is for as a planning file can make.
St Albans is a settled, prosperous, family-heavy city, and the people who live here are one of the main reasons others want to join them.