Photo: DS Pugh · CC BY-SA 2.0Households without a car or van make up 4.7% in Barlow, less than in 99% of UK towns
39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 26% in Barlow. In 2021, the Census found 455 residents locally, living in 190 households. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 98% of the total. The median age here is 49.6, higher than in 83% of UK towns.
8.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 89% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 11% of residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. For Barlow, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 18%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Barlow, 5.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 99% 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%.
Compared with 7.9% across England’s towns, 5.7% of adults are full-time students here. To put it in context, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
In Barlow, 19% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against North Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.4 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 2.1%.
In Barlow, 64% of households live in a detached house, more than in 98% 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
Households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. Against that, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. 13% of households live in a terraced house.
3.1% born outside the UK, fewer than in 90% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.9%). Residents born outside the UK: 18% across England’s towns, for comparison. On residents whose main language is English, Barlow sits higher than 96% of UK towns: 99%.
Barlow sits below 90% of UK towns for residents with no religion (32%)
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: 98% of Barlow · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Christians make up 59% of residents, against 46% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, residents with no religion come to 37%.
61% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 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
8 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. As a yardstick, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Barlow has fewer unpaid carers than 62% of UK towns, at 8.9%.
37% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 37% of Barlow’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 8.9% have no qualification (18%).
Every nearby town is younger than Barlow
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barlow | 455 | — | 49.6 | 18% | 27% |
| Camblesforth | 1,557 | 1.6 mi | 47.6 | 23% | 25% |
| Hemingbrough | 1,874 | 2.2 mi | 46.1 | 19% | 30% |
| Carlton | 2,040 | 2.6 mi | 45.2 | 21% | 29% |
| Selby | 19,480 | 3.1 mi | 39.4 | 17% | 28% |
| Brayton | 4,092 | 3.4 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 29% |
| Barlby | 3,499 | 3.7 mi | 40.2 | 19% | 28% |
| Snaith | 3,557 | 4.1 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 28% |
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.
- “North Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in North Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Barlow’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 Barlow’s residents
What is the population of Barlow?
The 2021 Census counted 455 people in Barlow’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Barlow?
The median age was 49.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Barlow?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 3.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Barlow?
32% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 9% didn’t answer.
Is Barlow good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Barlow’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.