Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 7.4% in Barrow, less than in 97% of UK towns
27% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. Lower than in 96% of UK towns: 6.5% of households have no car or van. Barrow had 1,388 residents in 623 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 50% of households live in a detached house.
What the Census says about Barrow’s people
A village people move to
16% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Half of Barrow is under 43.3, younger than 59% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 8.3% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Locally, 19% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 96% 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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Barrow, 48% and 15%. For Barrow, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 16%. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
One-person households: 24%, a lower share than 91% 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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Barrow, 2.3. On the census count, 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. At 30%, the share of households with dependent children is higher than in three quarters of UK towns.
Households in flats make up 7.6% in Barrow, less than in 68% 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 24% across England’s towns, just over a quarter of households live in a terraced house here. Households in flats: 23% across England’s towns, for comparison.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 88% of UK towns: 3.2%
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
Compared with 90% across England’s towns, 99% of residents have English as their main language here. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. Residents born abroad were most often born in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%), then in EU countries (1.1%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 68% in Barrow, more than in 99% 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 Barrow · Lancashire’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Mixed or multiple (1.7%), Other White (1%) and Pakistani (0.6%). Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%. 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, a higher share than in 80% of UK towns.
Barrow: 53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, above 79% 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
34 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. As a reference point, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are scarce here: 30%, fewer than in 70% of UK towns. Unpaid carers: 9.6%, near enough the figure across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 44% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Barrow’s adults: 44% with a degree-level qualification and 11% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
6 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Barrow
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrow | 1,388 | — | 43.3 | 19% | 30% |
| Whalley | 3,411 | 1.2 mi | 49.6 | 25% | 26% |
| Billington | 1,743 | 1.9 mi | 48.6 | 24% | 25% |
| Clitheroe | 16,626 | 2.2 mi | 44 | 22% | 26% |
| Old Langho | 1,072 | 2.6 mi | 42.6 | 11% | 43% |
| Sabden | 1,582 | 2.6 mi | 48.1 | 22% | 24% |
| Read | 2,049 | 2.9 mi | 48.1 | 25% | 28% |
| Langho | 1,723 | 3.3 mi | 52.1 | 31% | 23% |
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 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 Barrow’s residents
What is the population of Barrow?
The 2021 Census counted 1,388 people in Barrow’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Barrow?
The median age was 43.3 at the 2021 Census. 7.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Barrow?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Lancashire’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Barrow?
27% said they had no religion and 68% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 3.4% didn’t answer.
Is Barrow good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on 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.