West Midlands is a metropolitan county in central England, covering the Birmingham and Coventry conurbations and the Black Country. It measures 348 square miles (902 km2), and its seven boroughs held 2,918,251 people at the 2021 census. Only Greater London has more.
There is no county council. It was abolished in 1986, and the seven metropolitan boroughs now run services directly, coordinating through the West Midlands Combined Authority and its elected mayor.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | West Midlands |
| Area | 348 sq mi (902 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 2,918,251 |
| Density | 3,235 people per km2 (8,380 per sq mi) |
| Largest city | Birmingham (1,143,285) |
| Boroughs | Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton |
| Created | 1 April 1974 |
| Postcode areas | B, CV, DY, WS, WV |
Towns and Villages in the West Midlands
The county is largely continuous urban area, so most named places are towns, districts and former villages absorbed into the conurbation. Solihull, which holds the rural Meriden Gap, has the only substantial set of free-standing villages. The 172 places below are grouped by borough.
Birmingham
- Bartley Green
- Birmingham
- Bournville
- Castle Vale
- Digbeth
- Erdington
- Four Oaks
- Gravelly Hill
- Hall Green
- Handsworth
- Harborne
- Hay Mills
- Kings Heath
- Kings Norton
- Kingstanding
- Longbridge
- Minworth
- Moseley
- Nechells
- Northfield
- Perry Barr
- Red Hill
- Roughley
- Rubery
- Saltley
- Selly Oak
- Selly Park
- Sheldon
- Short Heath
- Small Heath
- Sparkbrook
- Sparkhill
- Stechford
- Sutton Coldfield
- Tile Cross
- Tyburn
- West Heath
- Wylde Green
Coventry
- Allesley
- Canley
- Coundon
- Coventry
- Foleshill
- Harvest Hill
- Hawkes End
- Keresley
- Longford
- Millison’s Wood
- Pickford
- Pinkett’s Booth
- Stivichall
- Tollbar End
- Walsgrave on Sowe
- Whitley
- Wyken
Dudley
- Amblecote
- Brettell Lane
- Brierley Hill
- Coseley
- Cradley
- Delph
- Dudley
- Gornalwood
- Halesowen
- Hasbury
- Illey
- Kingswinford
- Lower Gornal
- Lutley
- Lye
- Netherton
- Pedmore
- Ridge Hill
- Sedgley
- Stourbridge
- Wollaston
- Woodside
- Wordsley
Sandwell
- Bird End
- Blackheath
- Cradley Heath
- Great Barr
- Old Hill
- Oldbury
- Rowley Regis
- Sandwell
- Smethwick
- Tipton
- Warley
- Wednesbury
- West Bromwich
Solihull
- Balsall Common
- Barston
- Beechwood
- Bentley Heath
- Benton Green
- Berkswell
- Bickenhill
- Box Trees
- Bradnock’s Marsh
- Carol Green
- Castle Bromwich
- Catherine-de-Barnes
- Chadwick End
- Chelmsley Wood
- Cheswick Green
- Copt Heath
- Darley Green
- Dickens Heath
- Dorridge
- Eastcote
- Eaves Green
- Fen End
- Flint’s Green
- Four Oaks
- Hampton in Arden
- Heronfield
- Hockley Heath
- Hollyberry End
- Illshaw Heath
- Knowle
- Lodge Green
- Marston Green
- Meer End
- Meriden
- Netherwood Heath
- Norton Green
- Oldwich Lane
- Olton
- Reeves Green
- Rotten Row
- Rumbush
- Solihull
- Temple Balsall
- Three Maypoles
- Tidbury Green
- Walsal End
- Waring’s Green
- Whitlock’s End
- Wootton Green
Walsall
- Aldridge
- Bescot
- Birchills
- Bloxwich
- Bourne Vale
- Brownhills
- Clayhanger
- Darlaston
- Hardwick
- Leamore
- Mill Green
- New Invention
- Pelsall
- Pheasey
- Rushall
- Shelfield
- Streetly
- Upper Stonnall
- Walsall
- Walsall Wood
- Willenhall
Wolverhampton
- Bilston
- Blakenhall
- Bradley
- Bradmore
- Bushbury
- Fallings Park
- Merry Hill
- Moseley
- Tettenhall
- Wednesfield
- Wolverhampton
Birmingham (1,143,285 in 2021) is the largest local authority in the country by population. Coventry follows with 344,151, then Sandwell 341,895, Dudley 323,591, Walsall 284,392, Wolverhampton 264,260 and Solihull 216,677.
Geography
The county is landlocked and sits on the Birmingham Plateau, which reaches about 250 metres near Rowley Regis and Frankley. The watershed between the Severn and the Trent runs through it, so streams on one side of a street can end up in different seas.
The Tame, Rea, Cole and Sowe drain most of the built-up area. Staffordshire lies to the north and west, Worcestershire to the south-west and Warwickshire to the east and south-east. The Meriden Gap, a green belt wedge in Solihull, keeps Birmingham and Coventry apart.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 2,918,251 people, up about 172,000 on 2011. Density averages 3,235 per square kilometre, the highest of any English county outside London.
The population is young and diverse. Birmingham has one of the lowest median ages of any large British city, and just over half its residents identified as other than White British in 2021. Five universities operate in the county, teaching more than 100,000 students between them.
Economy and Local Life
Vehicle manufacture remains central. Jaguar Land Rover builds at Solihull and Castle Bromwich, and hundreds of component firms supply it from the Black Country. Metal trades still specialise by town: locks at Willenhall, glass around Stourbridge, chain at Cradley Heath.
Birmingham city centre carries the region’s financial, legal and professional services, and hosts the National Exhibition Centre and two international convention venues. Coventry has moved from car assembly towards battery and mobility research alongside the University of Warwick.
History
The Black Country took its name in the 1840s from the smoke and slag of a thirty-foot coal seam worked close to the surface. Birmingham grew on small metal workshops rather than mills, which is why it had thousands of firms instead of a few dozen.
Coventry built bicycles, then cars, then aircraft parts, and was heavily bombed in November 1940; its new cathedral of 1962 stands beside the shell of the old. The county itself was created in 1974 from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
Getting There
The M6 crosses the county through the Bescot and Gravelly Hill interchanges, the second of these known as Spaghetti Junction. The M5 runs south from West Bromwich and the M54 heads north-west from Wolverhampton. The M42 forms an outer arc, and the M6 Toll bypasses the conurbation to the north.
Birmingham New Street is the busiest railway station outside London, with Moor Street and Snow Hill adding Chiltern and local services. The West Midlands Metro tram runs from Wolverhampton through Bilston and West Bromwich to Birmingham and Edgbaston. Birmingham Airport sits beside the NEC at Bickenhill.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of the West Midlands county?
2,918,251 across its seven boroughs at the 2021 census, second only to Greater London.
What is the largest town in the West Midlands?
Birmingham, with 1,143,285 residents in 2021. Coventry (344,151) is second.
Which councils cover the West Midlands?
Seven metropolitan boroughs: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. There has been no county council since 1986.
Is the West Midlands county the same as the West Midlands region?
No. The county is the conurbation itself; the region also takes in Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
What postcode areas cover the West Midlands?
B for Birmingham and Solihull, CV for Coventry, DY for Dudley, WS for Walsall and WV for Wolverhampton.
Where is the West Midlands county?
In central England, landlocked, with Staffordshire to the north and west, Worcestershire to the south-west and Warwickshire to the east.