Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.010% of households have no car or van, below 80% of UK towns
Here 9% of residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across England’s towns is 12%. 38% of households live in a detached house, more than in 73% of UK towns. Barrow upon Soar is home to 6,823 residents in 2,985 households, by the 2021 Census. On the census count, 43% of residents said they have no religion.
Growth of +15% since 2011 puts Barrow upon Soar ahead of 75% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Barrow upon Soar’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 6,500 people in 2011; 7,500 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+48%), the 30 to 44 group the smallest (+3%). Between mid-2012 and mid-2013 the population rose by 200, its biggest one-year gain.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 52% of UK towns: 22%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 50–54: 7.4% of residents. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Markfield, the oldest of Leicestershire’s towns by this measure, it is 30%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Barrow upon Soar, 44.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A higher share of full-time students than 59% of UK towns, at 5%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for just over two fifths of Barrow upon Soar’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 19%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students. On the census count, 8.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Barrow upon Soar sits below 64% of UK towns for one-person households (28%)
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Leicestershire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Set against 29% across England’s towns, 28% of households have dependent children in Barrow upon Soar. One-person households make up 30% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.3%.
A smaller share of households in flats than 69% of UK towns: 7.5%
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 terraced houses: 18% here and 24% across England’s towns. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 84% of UK towns: 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Where 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns, Barrow upon Soar has 4.2%. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.6%) and in Africa (0.9%). Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
A higher White British share than 66% of UK towns: 94% of residents
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: 94% of Barrow upon Soar · Leicestershire’s towns 66% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (0.9%). The share of residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns is 73%. Where 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, Barrow upon Soar has 49%.
Barrow upon Soar ranks above 69% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 51%
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 147. Fewer adults who have never married than in 62% of UK towns: 31%. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. There is little gap on unpaid carers: 9%, about the same as across England’s towns.
37% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 37% of Barrow upon Soar’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have no qualification (18%).
201st youngest of 473 UK towns of 5,000 to 9,000 people
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 Red Lodge (30.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Barrow upon Soar in age: Bedwas (44.4), Easington (44.5), Wellesbourne (44.5) and Haddenham (44.5).
Of the 7 towns nearest Barrow upon Soar, 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrow upon Soar | 6,823 | — | 44.5 | 22% | 28% |
| Quorndon | 5,576 | 1.3 mi | 48.5 | 25% | 27% |
| Sileby | 8,954 | 2.2 mi | 39.6 | 17% | 31% |
| Burton on the Wolds | 1,260 | 2.3 mi | 45.9 | 20% | 33% |
| Mountsorrel | 12,879 | 2.4 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 29% |
| Loughborough | 64,850 | 3.2 mi | 31.4 | 14% | 25% |
| Woodhouse Eaves | 1,618 | 3.8 mi | 48.6 | 26% | 26% |
| Wymeswold | 1,364 | 4 mi | 47.4 | 21% | 30% |
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.
- “Leicestershire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Leicestershire (or England), summed the same way as Barrow upon Soar’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. Barrow upon Soar’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 7,361 people in 2021, against 6,823 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 Barrow upon Soar’s residents
What is the population of Barrow upon Soar?
The 2021 Census counted 6,823 people in Barrow upon Soar’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 7,500 people in mid-2024, 15% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Barrow upon Soar?
The median age was 44.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 50% of UK towns. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Barrow upon Soar?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 66% across Leicestershire’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Barrow upon Soar?
43% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Barrow upon Soar good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Barrow upon Soar’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.