Photo: Ardfern · CC BY-SA 3.0In Ballygowan, 7.1% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 95% of towns in England and Wales
One-person households make up 23%, against 34% across Northern Ireland’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 3,138 people lived in Ballygowan, in 1,245 households. On the census count, 2.8% of households live in a flat or apartment. 14% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 92% of towns in England and Wales.
A median age of 39.1: Ballygowan is younger than 85% of towns in England and Wales
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 30–34: nearly one in ten residents. Higher than in 93% of towns in England and Wales: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. In Donaghadee, the oldest of Ards and North Down’s towns by this measure, it is 27%.
Median age of towns in England and Wales of 2,500+
■ Ballygowan, 39.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Northern Ireland, 51% of residents are women.
In Ballygowan, 6.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 93% of towns in England and Wales
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
On full-time students, 7.4% here is much the same as across Northern Ireland’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year: 9.6% across Northern Ireland’s towns, for comparison.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
In Ballygowan, 33% of households have dependent children, more than in 89% of towns in England and Wales
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Ards and North Down’s towns and Northern Ireland’s towns
People per household
Northern Ireland’s towns.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults is 1.5%, against 2.8% across Northern Ireland’s towns. As a reference point, 29% of households have dependent children across Northern Ireland’s towns. Households average 2.5 people.
Ballygowan ranks above 60% of towns in England and Wales on households in detached houses: 33%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
18% of households live in a terraced house, against 29% across Northern Ireland’s towns. The benchmark for households in detached houses across Northern Ireland’s towns: 24%.
2.5% born outside the UK, fewer than in 96% of towns in England and Wales
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 15%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
94% of residents have English as their main language across Northern Ireland’s towns, against 99% in Ballygowan. To put it in context, one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Northern Ireland’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.4%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.5%).
Residents with no religion: 26%, a lower share than 97% of towns in England and Wales
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White · all residents
White, not charted: 99% of Ballygowan · Ards and North Down’s towns 97% · Northern Ireland’s towns 96%.
Religion · all residents
72% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 76% across Northern Ireland’s towns. To put it in context, 21% of residents said they have no religion across Northern Ireland’s towns.
Above 99% of towns in England and Wales: 14% of residents give unpaid care
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Just over a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership (Northern Ireland’s towns: 41%). Against that, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care across Northern Ireland’s towns. Census figures put married adults and civil partners at 54% in Ballygowan.
A degree-level qualification for 32% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 32% of adults in Ballygowan (Northern Ireland’s towns: 32%), and no qualification by 16% (Northern Ireland’s towns: 25%). A levels are as far as 20% have gone so far, many of them students midway to a degree.
Among 515 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people, the 44th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to Ballygowan in age: Lampeter (38.9), Newington (39.1), Kingston Bagpuize (39.2) and Berinsfield (39.2).
A younger town than 6 of the 7 around it: Ballygowan
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballygowan | 3,138 | — | 39.1 | 14% | 33% |
| Saintfield | 3,588 | 3.6 mi | 43.7 | 20% | 29% |
| Comber | 9,529 | 3.7 mi | 46.1 | 24% | 25% |
| Carryduff | 7,173 | 4 mi | 40.7 | 18% | 33% |
| Metropolitan Castlereagh | 58,763 | 5.7 mi | 41 | 18% | 28% |
| Newtownards | 29,677 | 7.6 mi | 42.5 | 20% | 28% |
| Ballynahinch | 6,164 | 8.1 mi | 40 | 19% | 29% |
| Belfast | 293,298 | 8.6 mi | 36 | 15% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Ards and North Down’s towns” and “Northern Ireland’s towns” mean their settlements. Census comparisons pool every town in Ards and North Down (or Northern Ireland), summed the same way as Ballygowan’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. NISRA adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Ballygowan’s residents
What is the population of Ballygowan?
The 2021 Census counted 3,138 people in Ballygowan’s settlement.
What is the average age in Ballygowan?
The median age was 39.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 85% of towns in England and Wales. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ballygowan?
99% of residents described themselves as White in 2021, against 96% across Northern Ireland’s towns and 97% across Ards and North Down’s towns. 2.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ballygowan?
26% said they had no religion and 72% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 1% didn’t answer.
Is Ballygowan good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across Northern Ireland’s towns. Schools are on Ballygowan’s schools page.
Sources: NISRA Census 2021 (Flexible Table Builder), data zones summed to NISRA’s Settlement Development Limits 2015 (household composition by super data zone; women and men from whole data zones, which approximate the town’s boundary). Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.