Photo: KTo288 · CC BY-SA 3.0Half of Hounslow is under 36.8, younger than 92% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%; Hounslow has 7.3%. 286,591 residents in 102,502 households: that is Hounslow at the 2021 Census. For Hounslow, the census puts households in flats at 46%. Households without a car or van are more common here than in 97% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Hounslow’s people
More born abroad than most towns
50% 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 (25%) and in EU countries (13%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
72% 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 (21%), Other White (16%) and Pakistani (6.1%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A borough of families
37% of Hounslow’s 102,502 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 96% of UK towns. 19% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Hounslow’s residents are under 36.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% 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.
Hounslow grew +17% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 81% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Hounslow’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 254,900 people in 2011; 299,400 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+36%) and the 16 to 29 group least (+1%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2022 to mid-2023: 6,030 people.
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.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 11% here and 12% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Hounslow, 36.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Hounslow sits above 94% of UK towns for full-time students (8.5%)
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: 11%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. 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.
A larger share of households with dependent children than 96% of UK towns: 37%
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.
Households in Hounslow hold 2.8 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). A quarter of households are one person living alone. To put it in context, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Below 99% of UK towns: 4.8% of households live in a detached house
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
20% of households live in a terraced house. Households in detached houses: 21% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Hounslow sits above 99% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (50%)
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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: just over a fifth of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. The census found that 72% of residents have English as their main language in Hounslow. Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Hounslow ranks below 99% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 28%
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: 28% of Hounslow · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents with no religion at 19%, Hounslow is behind 99% of UK towns on that count. At 38%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in 95% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Indian (21%), Other White (16%) and Pakistani (6.1%).
Below 95% of UK towns: 7.2% of residents give unpaid care
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
Nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 38% in Hounslow. The share of married adults and civil partners stands at 48%. Unpaid carers: 8.7% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 42% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Hounslow’s adults: 42% with a degree-level qualification and 19% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. Many of the 12% whose highest qualification is A levels are students working towards a degree.
From a median age of 33 in North Hyde & North Cranford to 42 in Chiswick South East
The borough’s 29 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Chiswick South East is the oldest area, with 16% aged 65 or over; North Hyde & North Cranford the youngest (median age 33). Families with children are most common in North Hyde & North Cranford (45% of households).
42 UK towns of 201,000 to 387,000 people: this is the 18th 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 Bromley (41.2). Nearest to Hounslow in age: Redbridge (36.1), Haringey (36.2), Portsmouth (36.8) and Ealing (36.9).
A younger town than 6 of the 7 around it: Hounslow
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hounslow | 286,591 | — | 36.8 | 12% | 37% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 192,888 | 2.2 mi | 41.7 | 16% | 33% |
| Ealing | 367,271 | 3.7 mi | 36.9 | 12% | 34% |
| Sunbury-on-Thames | 21,476 | 4.4 mi | 40.5 | 17% | 34% |
| Ashford Common | 8,333 | 4.8 mi | 41.3 | 18% | 30% |
| Stanwell | 11,728 | 5 mi | 36.6 | 12% | 36% |
| Ashford | 22,823 | 5.2 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 32% |
| Upper Halliford | 2,337 | 5.6 mi | 50 | 29% | 24% |
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 Hounslow’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. Hounslow’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 288,170 people in 2021, against 286,591 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 Hounslow’s residents
What is the population of Hounslow?
The 2021 Census counted 286,591 people in Hounslow’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 299,400 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Hounslow?
The median age was 36.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 92% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hounslow?
28% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 50% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hounslow?
19% said they had no religion and 38% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 17% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Hounslow good for families?
37% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in North Hyde & North Cranford (45% of households). Schools are on Hounslow’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.