Photo: Galatas · CC BY-SA 2.0Barnston is older than 91% of UK towns: a median age of 51.5
Just over a quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 39%. On the census count, just over a fifth of households have dependent children. Compared with other places, households in terraced houses are scarce here: 2%, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 661 residents in 298 households.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.7%, a lower share than 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: nearly one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over: just over a quarter of the total. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
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.
A smaller share of full-time students than 83% of UK towns: 4%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in half of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 14% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. For Barnston, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 8.7%.
Smaller households than 66% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Merseyside’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 3%, above just over three quarters of UK towns. At 30%, the share of one-person households is lower than in half of UK towns.
Barnston: 45% of households live in a detached house, above 85% 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
Just over one in ten households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. For Barnston, the census puts households in flats at 9.5%.
5.6% born outside the UK, fewer than in 58% 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 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Set against 90% across England’s towns, 97% of residents have English as their main language in Barnston. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (2.7%) and in EU countries (1.5%).
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 99% of UK towns, at 67%
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: 93% of Barnston · Merseyside’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who describe themselves as White British at 93%, Barnston is ahead of 60% of UK towns on that count. Still, at 28%, the share of residents with no religion is lower than in 95% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46% across England’s towns, for comparison. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (1.7%), Indian (1.5%) and Mixed or multiple (1.4%).
Unpaid carers: 13%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
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
Some 23 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. At 59%, the share of married adults and civil partners is higher than in 96% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 47%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Barnston’s adults: 47% with a degree-level qualification and 11% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
2 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Barnston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnston | 661 | — | 51.5 | 26% | 21% |
| Heswall | 29,082 | 1.2 mi | 52.2 | 31% | 23% |
| Birkenhead | 109,854 | 2.5 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 28% |
| Greasby | 9,175 | 2.7 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 24% |
| Bebington | 57,607 | 3.3 mi | 45.1 | 23% | 27% |
| Caldy | 1,227 | 3.9 mi | 55.4 | 34% | 24% |
| Neston | 14,963 | 4 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 22% |
| West Kirby | 13,383 | 4.4 mi | 50.4 | 28% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Merseyside’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Merseyside (or England), summed the same way as Barnston’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Barnston’s residents
What is the population of Barnston?
The 2021 Census counted 661 people in Barnston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Barnston?
The median age was 51.5 at the 2021 Census. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Barnston?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Merseyside’s towns. 5.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Barnston?
28% said they had no religion and 67% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 3.2% didn’t answer.
Is Barnston good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Barnston’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). 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.