Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.058% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 99% of UK towns
Against a figure of 21% across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in Barnoldswick comes in at 12%. At 90%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is lower than in 62% of UK towns. There were 4,812 households in the town at the 2021 Census, home to 10,915 residents. Adults who have never married account for 34%.
+1% since 2011, a pace below 79% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Barnoldswick’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 11,000 people in 2011; 11,200 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+30%) and 16 to 29 least (−17%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2018 to mid-2019: 130 people.
Barnoldswick is younger than 58% of UK towns: a median age of 43.4
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 21% here and 18% across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.7% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Barnoldswick, 43.4. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
In Barnoldswick, 4.4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 70% 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%.
8.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier; across England’s towns the figure is 11%. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
In Barnoldswick, 32% of households are one person living alone, more than in 65% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Lancashire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
In Barnoldswick, 27% of households have dependent children, beside 29% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Households average 2.3 people. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 61% of UK towns.
A smaller share of households in flats than 67% of UK towns: 7.8%
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 without a car or van make up 19%, against 24% across England’s towns. On average, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
96% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 73% 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
Of residents born abroad, 17% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. The wider picture: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%). Fewer residents born outside the UK than in 52% of UK towns: 6.2%.
Barnoldswick sits below 62% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (48%)
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: 90% of Barnoldswick · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
3.7% of residents said their religion is Muslim. More residents with no religion than in 54% of UK towns: 42%. For residents who describe themselves as Christian, the comparison across England’s towns is 46%.
Barnoldswick sits below 67% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (45%)
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
At 8.8%, unpaid carers sit close to the figure across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Some 274 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
24% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
24% of Barnoldswick’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 21% have none (18%).
160th lowest median age among 397 UK towns of 8,000 to 15,000
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 Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Barnoldswick in age: Southwick (43.3), Buckley (43.3), Todmorden (43.4) and Immingham (43.4).
Around Barnoldswick, 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.
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Lancashire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Lancashire (or England), summed the same way as Barnoldswick’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Barnoldswick’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,171 people in 2021, against 10,915 in the built-up area.
- 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 Barnoldswick’s residents
What is the population of Barnoldswick?
The 2021 Census counted 10,915 people in Barnoldswick’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 11,200 people in mid-2024, 1% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Barnoldswick?
The median age was 43.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 58% of UK towns. 9.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Barnoldswick?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 6.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Barnoldswick?
42% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.7% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Barnoldswick good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Barnoldswick’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.