Photo: John H Darch · CC BY-SA 2.00.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, below 99% of UK towns
73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, against 96% in Great Barrow. The village’s 268 households held 595 residents at the 2021 Census. The census found that 37% of households are one person living alone in the village. Compared with other places, households in terraced houses are common here: 27%, more than in just over three quarters of UK towns.
Older than 66% of UK towns: half of Great Barrow is over 46.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 18% across England’s towns, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in Great Barrow. Across Great Barrow, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 84 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 5.6% in Great Barrow, more than in 77% 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%.
The share of residents who moved in within the year tops 65% of UK towns: 9.5%. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Great Barrow households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 69% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cheshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The figure for households with dependent children is 26% in Great Barrow and 29% across England’s towns.
12% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 70% of UK towns
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
Households in detached houses make up 24%, against 21% across England’s towns. At 15%, the share of households in flats is higher than in 68% of UK towns. In one household in 8 there is no car or van.
Great Barrow sits above 86% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.5%) or in Africa (1%). As a yardstick, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. At 4%, the share of residents born outside the UK is lower than in 77% of UK towns.
Above 97% of UK towns: 63% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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: 96% of Great Barrow · Cheshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Asked about religion, 30% answered none, against 37% across England’s towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%.
35% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 67% of UK towns
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
One in ten residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns. Set beside that, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. In Great Barrow, 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 42% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Great Barrow, 42% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 16% have no qualification at all (18%).
Around Great Barrow, 5 of 7 towns have a higher median age
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Barrow | 595 | — | 46.6 | 22% | 26% |
| Guilden Sutton | 1,462 | 1.5 mi | 51.7 | 30% | 27% |
| Mickle Trafford | 1,840 | 1.7 mi | 47.3 | 25% | 31% |
| Tarvin | 2,744 | 1.8 mi | 46 | 25% | 30% |
| Christleton and Waverton | 2,670 | 2.6 mi | 49.1 | 28% | 29% |
| Kelsall | 2,997 | 3.4 mi | 50.3 | 26% | 29% |
| Helsby | 5,278 | 4.2 mi | 47.3 | 25% | 24% |
| Moston | 1,099 | 4.2 mi | 26.8 | 3.2% | 55% |
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.
- “Cheshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cheshire (or England), summed the same way as Great Barrow’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 Great Barrow’s residents
What is the population of Great Barrow?
The 2021 Census counted 595 people in Great Barrow’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Great Barrow?
The median age was 46.6 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Great Barrow?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Cheshire’s towns. 4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Great Barrow?
30% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 7.2% didn’t answer.
Is Great Barrow good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Great Barrow’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.