Swakeleys · Photo: Harrison49 · CC BY-SA 3.0Hillingdon is younger than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 37
A household here has 2.7 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as Christian: 39% here, fewer than in 94% of UK towns. Hillingdon had 307,089 residents in 109,918 households at the 2021 Census. One-person households: 25% of the total.
What the Census says about Hillingdon’s people
More born abroad than most towns
38% 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 (20%) and in EU countries (9.3%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
63% 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 (19%), Other White (11%) and African (5.2%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A borough of families
37% of Hillingdon’s 109,918 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 95% of UK towns. 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Hillingdon’s residents are under 37 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 13% 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.
Hillingdon’s population changed by +20% since 2011, more than in 85% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Hillingdon’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 278,400 people in 2011; 332,800 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2022 to mid-2023, the population rose by 9,840, the most of any year. The 30 to 44 group saw the biggest change (+25%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (+11%).
Hillingdon sits below 93% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (14%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
13% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. Typically, 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+
■ Hillingdon, 37. 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.
Hillingdon: 9.6% of adults are full-time students, 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 10%, above nearly four fifths of UK towns. The wider picture: 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.
Above 95% of UK towns: 37% of households have dependent children
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: 5.5%, above 97% of UK towns. The comparison figure for households with dependent children is 29% across England’s towns.
Hillingdon: 31% of households live in a flat or apartment, above 96% 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
Where nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns, Hillingdon has 22%. As a yardstick, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. For Hillingdon, the census puts households in detached houses at 14%.
In Hillingdon, 38% 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 50%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
19% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. In Hillingdon, 78% of residents have English as their main language.
19% of residents said they have no religion, 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: 37% of Hillingdon · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 73% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British in Hillingdon comes in at 37%. Islam is the religion of 14% of residents.
Hillingdon ranks above 77% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 37%
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
In Hillingdon, 49% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. For 6,501 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. 7.8% of residents give unpaid care, a lower share than in 87% of UK towns.
A degree-level qualification for 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
37% of Hillingdon’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 18% have none (18%). A levels top the qualifications of 15%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
From a median age of 28 in Uxbridge West to 47 in Ducks Hill
The borough’s 33 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Ducks Hill is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Uxbridge West the youngest (median age 28). Students cluster in Uxbridge West, where 33% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Yeading North (47% of households).
40 UK towns of 215,000 to 415,000 people: this is the 14th 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 Tower Hamlets (30.8), the youngest, and Bromley (41.2), the oldest. Nearest to Hillingdon in age: Ealing (36.9), Northampton (37), Kingston upon Hull (37.1) and Derby (37.4).
Of the 7 towns nearest Hillingdon, 6 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillingdon | 307,089 | — | 37 | 14% | 37% |
| New Denham | 1,790 | 2.7 mi | 41.3 | 17% | 30% |
| Denham | 1,482 | 3.4 mi | 43.6 | 19% | 30% |
| Iver | 3,267 | 3.6 mi | 40.2 | 16% | 30% |
| Iver Heath | 5,150 | 3.9 mi | 43.9 | 19% | 30% |
| Richings Park | 1,787 | 4 mi | 40.8 | 17% | 36% |
| Ealing | 367,271 | 4.6 mi | 36.9 | 12% | 34% |
| Poyle | 1,736 | 5.3 mi | 37.3 | 11% | 35% |
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 Hillingdon’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. Hillingdon’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 309,488 people in 2021, against 307,089 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 Hillingdon’s residents
What is the population of Hillingdon?
The 2021 Census counted 307,089 people in Hillingdon’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 332,800 people in mid-2024, 20% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Hillingdon?
The median age was 37 at the 2021 Census, younger than 92% of UK towns. 13% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hillingdon?
37% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 38% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hillingdon?
19% said they had no religion and 39% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 14% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Hillingdon good for families?
37% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Yeading North (47% of households). Schools are on Hillingdon’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.