Photo: Robert Lamb · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 32.9: Hackney is younger than 98% of UK towns
Where nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Hackney has 81%. The borough counted 258,464 residents and 105,822 households at the 2021 Census. Adults who have never married account for 60%. At 1.3%, the share of households in detached houses is lower than in 99% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Hackney’s people
More born abroad than most towns
40% 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 (12%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (8.4%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
66% 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%), African (11%) and Caribbean (6.9%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Hackney’s residents are under 32.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 13% are 15 to 24 and 7.9% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A borough people move to
15% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.4 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) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
A +8% change since 2011: faster than 52% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Hackney’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 247,200 people in 2011; 266,800 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2012 to mid-2013: 4,450. By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+30%) and the 0 to 15 group least (−6%).
7.9% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (13%), Hackney is above 94% of UK towns. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Hackney, 32.9. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Hackney: 15% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 96% of UK towns
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%.
Just over two fifths of Hackney’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 16% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The census found that nearly one in ten adults are full-time students locally. The usual figure: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Hackney ranks above 99% of UK towns on shared households of unrelated adults: 12%
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 2.4 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. One-person households are more common here than in three quarters of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%. Households with dependent children account for 27%.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 99% of UK towns, at 65%
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
14% of households live in a terraced house; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. In one household in 2 there is no car or van.
More residents born abroad than 99% of UK towns: 40% in Hackney
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (12%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (8.4%). Residents whose main language is English are rarer here than in 98% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. A fifth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
34% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer 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: 34% of Hackney · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (19%), African (11%) and Caribbean (6.9%). The usual figure: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 31%, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. Add to that, 36% of residents said they have no religion; across England’s towns the figure is 37%.
Hackney ranks below 99% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 27%
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, 6.7% of residents give unpaid care. Three fifths of Hackney’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 27% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 52% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
17% of Hackney’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 52% have one at degree level (34%). A levels are the highest qualification of 12%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 25 in Stamford Hill North to 35 in Clissold South
The borough’s 30 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Clissold South is the oldest area, with 8.4% aged 65 or over; Stamford Hill North the youngest (median age 25). Families with children are most common in Stamford Hill South (42% of households).
49 UK towns of 181,000 to 349,000 people: this is the 3rd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Tower Hamlets is the youngest (30.8); Southend-on-Sea the oldest (41.8). Nearest to Hackney in age: Tower Hamlets (30.8), Nottingham (30.9), Bradford (33) and Barking and Dagenham (33.3).
A younger town than 5 of the 7 around it: Hackney
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hackney | 258,464 | — | 32.9 | 7.9% | 27% |
| Islington | 216,309 | 1.8 mi | 33.5 | 9.4% | 22% |
| City of London | 7,820 | 2.5 mi | 37.3 | 14% | 8.7% |
| Tower Hamlets | 311,072 | 2.8 mi | 30.8 | 5.7% | 27% |
| Haringey | 264,069 | 3 mi | 36.2 | 10% | 30% |
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | 3.5 mi | 35.8 | 10% | 35% |
| Camden | 209,342 | 3.9 mi | 34.6 | 12% | 23% |
| Newham | 351,065 | 4.6 mi | 32.5 | 7.2% | 38% |
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 Hackney’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. Hackney’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 259,151 people in 2021, against 258,464 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 Hackney’s residents
What is the population of Hackney?
The 2021 Census counted 258,464 people in Hackney’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 266,800 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Hackney?
The median age was 32.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 98% of UK towns. 13% of residents were 15 to 24 and 7.9% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hackney?
34% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 40% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hackney?
36% said they had no religion and 31% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 13% were Muslim and 8.7% didn’t answer.
Is Hackney good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Stamford Hill South (42% of households). Schools are on Hackney’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.