Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0A family borough: 36% of households have dependent children
Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion; in Harrow, 11%. On the census count, just over a fifth of households are one person living alone. With a median age of 38.1, Harrow is younger than 89% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 260,534 people lived here, in 89,359 households.
What the Census says about Harrow’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
80% 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 Indian (29%), Other White (16%) and African (4.1%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A borough of families
36% of Harrow’s 89,359 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 95% of UK towns. 19% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A borough of flats
35% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 97% of UK towns. 25% 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.
A +13% change since 2011: faster than 69% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Harrow’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 240,500 people in 2011; 270,700 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2023: 5,090 more people. The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+26%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (+6%).
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 89% of UK towns, at 15%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
12% of residents are aged 15 to 24, about the same as across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The largest age band is 35–39: nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Harrow, 38.1. 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.
Full-time students make up 8.9% in Harrow, more than in 95% 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%.
Across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier; in Harrow, 10%. By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.9 people per household, more than in 99% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 6.6%, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
A borough of flats: 35% of households live in one
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 detached houses: 11% here and 21% across England’s towns. The census found that 17% of households live in a terraced house in Harrow. More households without a car or van than in 86% of UK towns: 25%. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%.
Residents born outside the UK make up 51% in Harrow, 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
Against a figure of 90% across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English in Harrow comes in at 69%. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%.
20% 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: 20% of Harrow · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Islam is the religion of 16% of residents. At 34%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in 98% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 84% of UK towns don’t reach
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
There is little gap on unpaid carers: 8.2%, about the same as across England’s towns. Set beside that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Census figures put adults who have never married at 33% in Harrow.
Degree-level qualifications: 45% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Harrow’s adults: 45% with a degree-level qualification and 17% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 13%.
From a median age of 35 in Greenhill South to 47 in Hatch End North
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.
Hatch End North is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Greenhill South the youngest (median age 35). Families with children are most common in Newton Farm (43% of households).
Among 50 UK towns of 182,000 to 352,000 people, the 13th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tower Hamlets (30.8) and the oldest Southend-on-Sea (41.8). Nearest to Harrow in age: Merton (37.5), Norwich (37.9), Swindon (38.1) and Brighton and Hove (38.2).
3 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Harrow
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrow | 260,534 | — | 38.1 | 15% | 36% |
| Elstree | 1,737 | 4 mi | 40 | 15% | 34% |
| Bushey | 28,427 | 4 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 32% |
| Brent | 340,611 | 4.1 mi | 35.9 | 12% | 34% |
| Moor Park | 5,850 | 4.3 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 33% |
| Ealing | 367,271 | 4.9 mi | 36.9 | 12% | 34% |
| Hillingdon | 307,089 | 5.5 mi | 37 | 14% | 37% |
| Borehamwood | 39,760 | 5.5 mi | 37.6 | 13% | 36% |
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 Harrow’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. Harrow’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 261,208 people in 2021, against 260,534 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 Harrow’s residents
What is the population of Harrow?
The 2021 Census counted 260,534 people in Harrow’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 270,700 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Harrow?
The median age was 38.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 89% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Harrow?
20% 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 Harrow?
11% said they had no religion and 34% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 16% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Harrow good for families?
36% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Newton Farm (43% of households). Schools are on Harrow’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.