Photo: Trevor Harris · CC BY-SA 2.0Above 99% of UK towns: 48% of households live in a flat or apartment
10% of households live in a detached house; across England’s towns the figure is 21%. In 2021, the Census found 388,572 residents in Barnet, living in 148,558 households. Across Barnet, a fifth of residents said they have no religion. Households with dependent children are more common here than in 89% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Barnet’s people
More born abroad than most towns
43% of residents were born outside the UK, against 41% across London and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (15%) and in EU countries (14%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
64% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 99% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (22%), Indian (7.8%) and African (5.8%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A borough of flats
48% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 99% of UK towns. 30% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Barnet’s residents are under 37.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Barnet grew +13% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 72% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Barnet’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 357,500 people in 2011; 405,100 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+27%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (±0%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2022 to mid-2023: 7,820 people.
A median age of 37.8: Barnet is younger than 90% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 35–39: 7.9% of residents. On residents aged 65 and over, Barnet sits lower than 92% of UK towns: 14%. At the same time, across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; in the borough, 11%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Barnet, 37.8. 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.
More students than 95% of UK towns: 9% of adults in Barnet
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%.
In Barnet, 39% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 14% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. For Barnet, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 11%. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 96% of UK towns: 2.6 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against London and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
6.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%. Across Barnet, 28% of households are one person living alone.
A larger share of households without a car or van than 95% of UK towns: 30%
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
With households in terraced houses at 15%, Barnet is behind 72% of UK towns on that count. As a yardstick, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Barnet: 43% of residents born outside the UK
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 50%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Where 21% of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 18%. At 77%, the share of residents whose main language is English is lower than in 99% of UK towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (15%) and in EU countries (14%).
36% of residents describe themselves as White British, below 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: 36% of Barnet · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (22%), Indian (7.8%) and African (5.8%). For comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. 37% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 96% of UK towns.
Above 85% of UK towns: 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
7,281 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. At 7.9%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in 86% of UK towns. Elsewhere, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Barnet has 47%.
Degree-level qualifications: 49% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 49% of Barnet’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification (18%). The highest qualification of 12% is A levels, often students still at university.
From a median age of 31 in Golders Green North to 44 in Osidge
The borough’s 42 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Osidge is the oldest area, with 19% aged 65 or over; Golders Green North the youngest (median age 31). Families with children are most common in Burnt Oak & Watling Park (42% of households).
Among 29 UK towns of 272,000 to 525,000 people, the 3rd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.4 in Manchester to 41.2 in Bromley. Nearest to Barnet in age: Enfield (37.5), Croydon (37.6), Brighton and Hove (38.2) and Bromley (41.2).
Barnet sits below 2 of its 7 closest neighbours on 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
- 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.
- “London” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in London (or England), summed the same way as Barnet’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. Barnet’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 389,348 people in 2021, against 388,572 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 Barnet’s residents
What is the population of Barnet?
The 2021 Census counted 388,572 people in Barnet’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 405,100 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Barnet?
The median age was 37.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 90% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Barnet?
36% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 43% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Barnet?
20% said they had no religion and 37% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 12% were Muslim and 8% didn’t answer.
Is Barnet good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Burnt Oak & Watling Park (42% of households). Schools are on Barnet’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.