Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Newham is under 32.5, younger than 98% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%; Newham has 47%. At the 2021 Census Newham was home to 351,065 people in 115,586 households. For Newham, the census puts households in flats at 53%. The borough has more households without a car or van than 99% of UK towns, at 52%.
What the Census says about Newham’s people
A student borough
The 2021 Census counted 34,971 full-time students aged 16 and over, 13% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 97% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 14% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than most towns
54% 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 (16%). Where people were born ↓
A borough of families
38% of Newham’s 115,586 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 97% of UK towns. 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A mix of backgrounds
85% 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 (16%), Bangladeshi (16%) and African (12%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
From 2011 to 2024, Newham outgrew 87% of UK towns: +21%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Newham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 310,500 people in 2011; 374,500 in 2024.
Mid-2022 to mid-2023 brought the biggest yearly rise, 10,870 people. By age, the 45 to 64 group changed most (+43%) and the 0 to 15 group least (+7%).
In Newham, 7.2% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Where 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, Newham has 14%. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Newham, 32.5. 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.
Above 97% of UK towns: 13% 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%.
Across England’s towns, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier; in Newham, 13%. 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.
Newham sits above 97% of UK towns for households with dependent children (38%)
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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Newham, 3. Higher than in 99% of UK towns: 10% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. To put it in context, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. For Newham, the census puts one-person households at 23%.
Newham ranks below 98% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 5.5%
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
The share of households in terraced houses tops 85% of UK towns: 31%. Across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 21%.
Residents born outside the UK: 54%, a higher share than 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 65%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Of residents born abroad, 24% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The share of residents whose main language is English stands at 65%.
Newham sits below 99% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (15%)
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: 15% of Newham · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, Newham has 35%. In Newham, 14% of residents said they have no religion. For comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Newham ranks below 88% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 41%
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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 6,592. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Newham has fewer unpaid carers than 98% of UK towns, at 6.6%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 40% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 40% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 21% hold no qualification (18%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 13%.
From a median age of 28 in East Village to 35 in Beckton Park
The borough’s 40 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Beckton Park is the oldest area, with 8.1% aged 65 or over; East Village the youngest (median age 28). Families with children are most common in Plashet East (51% of households).
4th lowest median age among 36 UK towns of 246,000 to 474,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Manchester is the youngest (30.4); Bromley the oldest (41.2). Nearest to Newham in age: Tower Hamlets (30.8), Nottingham (30.9), Hackney (32.9) and Bradford (33).
6 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Newham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newham | 351,065 | — | 32.5 | 7.2% | 38% |
| Tower Hamlets | 311,072 | 3.2 mi | 30.8 | 5.7% | 27% |
| Redbridge | 309,509 | 3.6 mi | 36.1 | 12% | 41% |
| Greenwich | 288,117 | 4.1 mi | 35.3 | 10% | 32% |
| Barking and Dagenham | 218,236 | 4.2 mi | 33.3 | 8.7% | 45% |
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | 4.3 mi | 35.8 | 10% | 35% |
| Hackney | 258,464 | 4.6 mi | 32.9 | 7.9% | 27% |
| City of London | 7,820 | 5.5 mi | 37.3 | 14% | 8.7% |
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 Newham’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. Newham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 351,065 people in 2021, against 351,065 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 Newham’s residents
What is the population of Newham?
The 2021 Census counted 351,065 people in Newham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 374,500 people in mid-2024, 21% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Newham?
The median age was 32.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 98% of UK towns. 14% of residents were 15 to 24 and 7.2% were 65 or over.
Is Newham a student borough?
Yes: 13% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (34,971 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Newham?
15% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 54% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Newham?
14% said they had no religion and 35% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 35% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Newham good for families?
38% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Plashet East (51% of households). Schools are on Newham’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.