Photo: Andrew Abbott · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer households with dependent children than 97% of UK towns: 18%
Households in Bowness-on-Windermere hold 2.1 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). The village had 2,290 residents and 1,096 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 48.8. Locally, 8.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are scarce here: 81%, fewer than in 84% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Bowness-on-Windermere’s people
A village of flats
35% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 98% of UK towns. 19% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Bowness-on-Windermere is older than 79% of UK towns: a median age of 48.8
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 8.4% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Here, 26% of residents are 65 or over.
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.
Bowness-on-Windermere: 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 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%.
Full-time students: 4.4%, below 69% of UK towns. Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across England’s towns.
36% of households are one person living alone, a share 92% of UK towns don’t reach
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.
5.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Households in flats make up 35% in Bowness-on-Windermere, more than in 98% 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
Compared with 21% across England’s towns, 33% of households live in a detached house here. For comparison, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Here, 16% of households live in a terraced house. At 19%, the share of households without a car or van is higher than in just over two thirds of UK towns.
Residents whose main language is English make up 87% in Bowness-on-Windermere, less than in 95% of UK towns
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 29% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). The usual figure: 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Locally, a fifth of residents were born outside the UK.
60% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 94% 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: 81% of Bowness-on-Windermere · Cumbria’s towns 95% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (15%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Chinese (0.4%). To put it in context, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 33% of residents said they have no religion, a lower share than in 88% of UK towns.
36% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 74% 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
Unpaid carers make up 7.2% of residents, against 8.7% across England’s towns. Against that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Census figures put married adults and civil partners at 45% in Bowness-on-Windermere.
40% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
40% of Bowness-on-Windermere’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have none (18%).
2 of the 6 nearest towns are older than Bowness-on-Windermere
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowness-on-Windermere | 2,290 | — | 48.8 | 26% | 18% |
| Windermere | 4,819 | 0.9 mi | 51 | 26% | 20% |
| Staveley | 1,466 | 4 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 21% |
| Ambleside | 2,624 | 5 mi | 48.5 | 25% | 15% |
| Kendal | 28,939 | 7.5 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 23% |
| Levens | 1,020 | 8.4 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 22% |
| Milnthorpe | 1,871 | 11.1 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 26% |
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 Bowness-on-Windermere’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 Bowness-on-Windermere’s residents
What is the population of Bowness-on-Windermere?
The 2021 Census counted 2,290 people in Bowness-on-Windermere’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bowness-on-Windermere?
The median age was 48.8 at the 2021 Census. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bowness-on-Windermere?
81% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 95% across Cumbria’s towns. 20% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bowness-on-Windermere?
33% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Bowness-on-Windermere good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bowness-on-Windermere’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.