Photo: Russel Wills · CC BY-SA 2.0Households with dependent children: 16%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
By its share of households in terraced houses (34%), Backbarrow is above 89% of UK towns. 240 residents in 117 households: that is Backbarrow at the 2021 Census. Across Backbarrow, 60% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. The median age in the village is 52.7, higher than in 93% of UK towns.
Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 97% of UK towns: 7.4%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 11% of residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. 25% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 74% of UK towns. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 97% of UK towns: 3.3% of adults are full-time students
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%.
One in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier; across England’s towns the figure is 11%. By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2 people per household, fewer than in 97% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cumbria’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
With shared households of unrelated adults at 2.6%, Backbarrow is ahead of 61% of UK towns on that count. On the census count, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Only 12% of households in Backbarrow have no car or van
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
In Backbarrow, 8.3% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. Few places have so few households in detached houses: 28% here, fewer than in 52% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 96% of UK towns: 2.5%
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
Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%; Backbarrow has 99%. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.7%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 95%, a higher share than 81% of UK towns
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: 95% of Backbarrow · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion; in Backbarrow, 41%. Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian stands at 52%.
Fewer unpaid carers than 99% of UK towns: 5.9%
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
3 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. On adults who have never married, Backbarrow sits lower than 83% of UK towns: 27%. The benchmark for unpaid carers across England’s towns: 8.7%.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 42% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Backbarrow counts 42% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 17% have no qualification (18%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Backbarrow, 3 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backbarrow | 240 | — | 52.7 | 25% | 16% |
| Allithwaite | 1,171 | 5.5 mi | 55.7 | 32% | 22% |
| Grange-over-Sands | 4,047 | 5.6 mi | 63 | 47% | 11% |
| Ulverston | 11,219 | 6 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 21% |
| Swarthmoor | 1,030 | 7.1 mi | 50.7 | 27% | 22% |
| Arnside | 2,231 | 7.5 mi | 62.4 | 45% | 14% |
| Bowness-on-Windermere | 2,290 | 8.1 mi | 48.8 | 26% | 18% |
| Levens | 1,020 | 8.2 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 22% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Cumbria’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cumbria (or England), summed the same way as Backbarrow’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 Backbarrow’s residents
What is the population of Backbarrow?
The 2021 Census counted 240 people in Backbarrow’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Backbarrow?
The median age was 52.7 at the 2021 Census. 7.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Backbarrow?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 2.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Backbarrow?
41% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Backbarrow good for families?
16% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Backbarrow’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.