Photo: Richard Rogerson · CC BY-SA 2.0Waltham Forest is younger than 95% of UK towns: a median age of 35.8
The figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 7.6% in Waltham Forest and 4.3% across England’s towns. At 42%, the share of households without a car or van is higher than in 99% of UK towns. 278,129 residents in 102,837 households: that is Waltham Forest at the 2021 Census. The census found that 4.1% of households live in a detached house in the borough.
What the Census says about Waltham Forest’s people
More born abroad than most towns
39% 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 (15%) and in the Middle East and Asia (9.3%). 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%), Pakistani (10%) and African (6.8%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A borough of families
35% of Waltham Forest’s 102,837 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 93% of UK towns. 19% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Waltham Forest’s residents are under 35.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 10% 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.
Waltham Forest’s population changed by +8% since 2011, more than in 51% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Waltham Forest’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 259,700 people in 2011; 279,700 in 2024.
The 45 to 64 group saw the biggest change (+24%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (−16%). Between mid-2012 and mid-2013 the population rose by 4,390, its biggest one-year gain.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 10% in Waltham Forest, less than in 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 12% across England’s towns, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Waltham Forest. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Waltham Forest, 35.8. 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.
8.6% of adults are full-time students, 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 11%. As a reference point, 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.
Waltham Forest ranks above 93% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 35%
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.
The figure for one-person households is 26% in Waltham Forest and 30% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for households with dependent children is 29% across England’s towns. The average household has 2.7 people.
In Waltham Forest, 45% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 99% 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
35% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
39% 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
The share of residents whose main language is English is 78%, against 90% across England’s towns. Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 34%, a lower share than 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 Waltham Forest · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion is 28%, against 37% across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 39% of the total. Measured more widely, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Waltham Forest sits above 97% of UK towns for adults who have never married (47%)
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 Waltham Forest, 7.1% of residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners account for 40%. Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Among adults, 43% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 43% of its adults qualified to degree level, Waltham Forest compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 18% hold no qualification (18%). A levels top the qualifications of 13%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
From a median age of 34 in Wood Street to 43 in Chingford Green West
The borough’s 28 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Chingford Green West is the oldest area, with 21% aged 65 or over; Wood Street the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Lloyd Park (42% of households).
Ranked by age, 20th youngest of 45 UK towns this size
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); Bromley the oldest (41.2). Nearest to Waltham Forest in age: Lewisham (35.4), Reading (35.7), Brent (35.9) and Westminster (35.9).
5 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Waltham Forest
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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 Waltham Forest’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. Waltham Forest’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 278,427 people in 2021, against 278,129 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 Waltham Forest’s residents
What is the population of Waltham Forest?
The 2021 Census counted 278,129 people in Waltham Forest’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 279,700 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Waltham Forest?
The median age was 35.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 95% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 10% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Waltham Forest?
34% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 39% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Waltham Forest?
28% said they had no religion and 39% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 22% were Muslim and 7% didn’t answer.
Is Waltham Forest good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Lloyd Park (42% of households). Schools are on Waltham Forest’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.