Photo: P.g.champion · CC BY 2.0 ukYounger than 92% of UK towns: half of Ealing is under 36.9
By its share of households in detached houses (5.1%), Ealing is below 98% of UK towns. On the census count, just over a third of households have dependent children. The borough has fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than 95% of UK towns, at 38%. Census day 2021: 367,271 residents and 133,728 households here.
What the Census says about Ealing’s people
More born abroad than most towns
51% 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 (23%) and in EU countries (15%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
76% 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 (19%), Indian (15%) and African (6.2%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Ealing’s residents are under 36.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A borough of flats
50% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 99% of UK towns. 37% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
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.
Faster growth than 73% of UK towns: Ealing changed by +14% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ealing’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 339,300 people in 2011; 386,000 in 2024.
Between mid-2022 and mid-2023 the population rose by 8,890, its biggest one-year gain. The 65 and over age group moved most (+33%); the 30 to 44 group moved least (+3%).
Only 12% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 30–34: 8.4% of residents. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 12% here, more than in 93% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ealing, 36.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Above 96% of UK towns: 9.6% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 34% of Ealing’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 19%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year: 12% of the total. Full-time students make up 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.
In Ealing, 8.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, more than in 98% 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.
A household here has 2.7 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across England’s towns is 4.3%. The share of one-person households stands at 27%.
50% of households live in a flat, 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
Here 23% of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. Locally, 37% of households have no car or van.
Residents born outside the UK make up 51% in Ealing, 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 60%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (23%) or in EU countries (15%). Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK. 69% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 19%.
Below 99% of UK towns: 24% of residents describe themselves as White British
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: 24% of Ealing · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Nearly a fifth of residents said they have no religion; across England’s towns the figure is 37%. Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
42% of adults have never married, more than in 93% 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. Locally, 7% of residents give unpaid care. 45% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 71% of UK towns.
44% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Ealing, 44%, and 18% have none, against 18%. A levels are the highest qualification of 13%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 30 in North Acton to 44 in Pitshanger
The borough’s 41 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Pitshanger is the oldest area, with 19% aged 65 or over; North Acton the youngest (median age 30). Students cluster in North Acton, where 27% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Southall Green East (50% of households).
Of 34 UK towns its size (257,000 to 496,000 people), the 13th oldest
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 Manchester (30.4), the youngest, and Bromley (41.2), the oldest. Nearest to Ealing in age: Haringey (36.2), Hounslow (36.8), Hillingdon (37) and Kingston upon Hull (37.1).
Ealing sits below 4 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ealing | 367,271 | — | 36.9 | 12% | 34% |
| Brent | 340,611 | 3.7 mi | 35.9 | 12% | 34% |
| Hounslow | 286,591 | 3.7 mi | 36.8 | 12% | 37% |
| Hillingdon | 307,089 | 4.6 mi | 37 | 14% | 37% |
| Harrow | 260,534 | 4.9 mi | 38.1 | 15% | 36% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 192,888 | 4.9 mi | 41.7 | 16% | 33% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 182,187 | 5.2 mi | 34.2 | 10% | 23% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 143,348 | 6 mi | 39.1 | 14% | 20% |
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 Ealing’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. Ealing’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 367,092 people in 2021, against 367,271 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 Ealing’s residents
What is the population of Ealing?
The 2021 Census counted 367,271 people in Ealing’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 386,000 people in mid-2024, 14% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ealing?
The median age was 36.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 92% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ealing?
24% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 51% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ealing?
19% said they had no religion and 38% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 19% were Muslim and 6.7% didn’t answer.
Is Ealing good for families?
34% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Southall Green East (50% of households). Schools are on Ealing’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.