Photo: Philip Jeffrey · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer households without a car or van than 94% of UK towns: 7.4%
Just over half of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. There were 733 households in Harrold at the 2021 Census, home to 1,668 residents. The share of households in detached houses stands at 42%. At 47%, the share of residents with no religion is higher than in 84% of UK towns.
Harrold is older than 72% of UK towns: a median age of 47.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 10% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. For Harrold, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 20%. Higher than in just over four fifths of UK towns: 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Harrold, 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 94% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s 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%.
7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, against 5.5% in Harrold. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 11% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, a share 68% of UK towns don’t reach
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Bedfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
At 29%, households with dependent children sit close to the figure across England’s towns. Average household size: 2.3 people. The comparison figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3% across England’s towns.
A village of terraces: 26% of households live in one
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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment in Harrold. Across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 57% of UK towns, at 98%
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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (3.4%), then in Africa (1.4%). Elsewhere, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 12%.
Harrold sits below 56% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (91%)
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 91% of Harrold · Bedfordshire’s towns 61% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian are about as common here as across England’s towns: 46%. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (4.6%), Mixed or multiple (2.1%) and Indian (0.9%). Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Below 70% of UK towns: 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
28 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Across the comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. At 7.8%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in 88% of UK towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 45%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Harrold, 45%, and 11% have none, against 18%.
Around Harrold, 3 of 7 towns have a higher median age
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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.
- “Bedfordshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Bedfordshire (or England), summed the same way as Harrold’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS 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 Harrold’s residents
What is the population of Harrold?
The 2021 Census counted 1,668 people in Harrold’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Harrold?
The median age was 47.6 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Harrold?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 61% across Bedfordshire’s towns. 6.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Harrold?
47% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 4.4% didn’t answer.
Is Harrold good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Harrold’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the 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.