Photo: Bryn Holmes · CC BY-SA 2.0Camden is younger than 96% of UK towns: a median age of 34.6
Here 56% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 39%. There were 92,442 households in Camden at the 2021 Census, home to 209,342 residents. In Camden, nearly one in ten households are unrelated adults sharing a home. One-person households are more common here than in 98% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Camden’s people
A student borough
The 2021 Census counted 27,012 full-time students aged 16 and over, 15% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 98% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 16% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than most towns
45% of residents were born outside the UK, against 41% across London and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (14%) and in the Middle East and Asia (14%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
65% 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 (24%), Bangladeshi (6.9%) and African (6.8%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Camden’s residents are under 34.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 16% are 15 to 24 and 12% 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.
Camden changed by −1% from 2011 to 2024, behind 90% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Camden’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 220,100 people in 2011; 216,900 in 2024.
Split by age, the 45 to 64 changed most (+13%) and the 30 to 44 least (−18%).
Residents aged 65 and over: 12%, a lower share than 96% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 25–29, with one in ten residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. 16% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a higher share than in 97% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Camden, 34.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
15% of adults are full-time students, a share 98% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
By its share of residents who moved in within the year (18%), Camden is above 98% of UK towns. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children: 23%, a lower share than 87% of UK towns
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.
In Camden the average household is 2.2 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. As a reference point, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
In Camden, 87% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 99% 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
With households in terraced houses at 8.1%, Camden is behind 93% of UK towns on that count. Across the comparison, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. On the census count, 64% of households have no car or van. Few places have so few households in detached houses: 1.7% here, fewer than in 99% of UK towns.
45% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 99% 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 55%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 29% (England’s towns: 21%). Here, nearly four in five residents have English as their main language. By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 99% of UK towns, at 35%
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: 35% of Camden · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion trails 83% of UK towns: 35%. At 31%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in 99% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. 16% of residents are Muslim.
Married adults and civil partners: 31%, a lower share than 99% 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
Students and young renters account for much of that. Unpaid carers: 7.3% of the total. 56% of Camden’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 31% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 57% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Camden, 57% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 12% have no qualification at all (18%). A levels top the qualifications of 14%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
From a median age of 27 in Fitzrovia East & Bloomsbury West to 42 in Highgate West
The borough’s 27 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Highgate West is the oldest area, with 18% aged 65 or over; Fitzrovia East & Bloomsbury West the youngest (median age 27). Students cluster in Fitzrovia East & Bloomsbury West, where 44% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Frognal (32% of households).
44 UK towns of 147,000 to 283,000 people: this is the 7th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Cambridge (31.9) and the oldest Blackpool (44). Nearest to Camden in age: Islington (33.5), Hammersmith and Fulham (34.2), Luton (34.7) and Southampton (34.7).
Nearby, 4 of 7 towns have older populations than Camden
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | 209,342 | — | 34.6 | 12% | 23% |
| Westminster | 203,571 | 1.9 mi | 35.9 | 12% | 19% |
| Islington | 216,309 | 2.1 mi | 33.5 | 9.4% | 22% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 143,348 | 3.2 mi | 39.1 | 14% | 20% |
| City of London | 7,820 | 3.3 mi | 37.3 | 14% | 8.7% |
| Hackney | 258,464 | 3.9 mi | 32.9 | 7.9% | 27% |
| Haringey | 264,069 | 4.1 mi | 36.2 | 10% | 30% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 182,187 | 4.4 mi | 34.2 | 10% | 23% |
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 Camden’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. Camden’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 210,124 people in 2021, against 209,342 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 Camden’s residents
What is the population of Camden?
The 2021 Census counted 209,342 people in Camden’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 216,900 people in mid-2024, 1% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Camden?
The median age was 34.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 16% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
Is Camden a student borough?
Yes: 15% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (27,012 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In Fitzrovia East & Bloomsbury West, 44% of adults were students.
How diverse is Camden?
35% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 45% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Camden?
35% said they had no religion and 31% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 16% were Muslim and 8.9% didn’t answer.
Is Camden good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Frognal (32% of households). Schools are on Camden’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.