Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 56.3: Borrowby is older than 98% of UK towns
Where 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, Borrowby has 18%. Higher than in 99% of UK towns: 62% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. In 2021, the Census found 389 residents in the village, living in 181 households. Across Borrowby, 64% of households live in a detached house.
Only 4.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Borrowby
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 11% of residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. At 34%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is higher than in 96% of UK towns. Set beside that, 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 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
2.1% of adults are full-time students, 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%.
8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 83% 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.
Little separates the share of shared households of unrelated adults here, 3.9%, from the figure across England’s towns. Across Borrowby, 29% of households are one person living alone.
Households in flats make up 0.6% in Borrowby, less 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
13% of households live in a terraced house (England’s towns: 24%). The share of households in flats across England’s towns is 23%. Households without a car or van: 7.3% of the total.
Residents whose main language is English: 100%, 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 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Where 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns, Borrowby has 4.1%. 100% of residents have English as their main language.
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 98%, a higher 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: 98% of Borrowby · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion make up 27%, against 37% across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as Christian at 62% in Borrowby. Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
19% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 15. 13% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 99% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%.
A degree-level qualification for 51% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 51% of adults in Borrowby, 34% across England’s towns; 18% have no qualification, against 18%.
The towns around Borrowby are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borrowby | 389 | — | 56.3 | 34% | 18% |
| Thirsk | 5,891 | 4.3 mi | 47.3 | 24% | 21% |
| Northallerton | 13,314 | 4.6 mi | 47 | 25% | 24% |
| Romanby | 3,825 | 4.7 mi | 52.4 | 30% | 22% |
| Sowerby | 4,727 | 5 mi | 45 | 25% | 26% |
| Brompton | 2,034 | 5.5 mi | 46.7 | 22% | 23% |
| Leeming | 1,712 | 7.2 mi | 29.1 | 8.5% | 40% |
| Leeming Bar | 1,063 | 8.7 mi | 43.4 | 22% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Borrowby’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 Borrowby’s residents
What is the population of Borrowby?
The 2021 Census counted 389 people in Borrowby’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Borrowby?
The median age was 56.3 at the 2021 Census. 4.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Borrowby?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Borrowby?
27% said they had no religion and 62% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 9.2% didn’t answer.
Is Borrowby good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Borrowby’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.