Stone bridge in Barnwell, Northamptonshire

Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0

52.4Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Older than 93% of UK towns: half of Barnwell is over 52.4

Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%; Barnwell has 8.1%. There were 175 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 391 residents. The census found that 2.3% of households live in a flat or apartment in the village. Higher than in 87% of UK towns: 55% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.

27%aged 65 or over 8.2%born abroad 175households

Ages

Residents aged 65 and over make up 27% in Barnwell, more than in 82% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

BarnwellEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Residents aged 15 to 24: 9%, below 75% of UK towns. To put it in context, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1512%

15 to 249%

25 to 4417%

45 to 6435%

65 and over27%

BarnwellNorthamptonshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

50% women, 50% men

Barnwell

England

WomenMen

About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 99% of UK towns: 5.4%

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

Full-time students3.9%

Higher managerial and professional16%

Lower managerial and professional26%

Intermediate10%

Small employers and self-employed20%

Supervisory and technical6%

Semi-routine6.6%

Routine9.2%

Never worked or long-term unemployed3%

BarnwellNorthamptonshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Barnwell

5.9%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 5.4%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0× England’s share

7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, against 3.9% in Barnwell. On average, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.

Households

22% of households have dependent children, below 88% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 15%Living alone, under 66 10%Families with dependent children 22%Couples and families, no young children 49%Shared houses and other 4%

Against Northamptonshire’s towns and England’s towns

Barnwell

Northamptonshire’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person26%

2 people42%

3 people16%

4 people14%

5 or more2.3%

England’s towns.

Shared households of unrelated adults are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 4%. The census found that a quarter of households are one person living alone in Barnwell. For households with dependent children, the comparison across England’s towns is 29%.

Homes & cars

More detached houses than 85% of UK towns: 45% of households

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Barnwell

Northamptonshire’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van8.1%

One28%

Two39%

Three or more24%

BarnwellNorthamptonshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Households in terraced houses make up 19%, against 24% across England’s towns. The wider picture: just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.

Where people were born

A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 65% of UK towns, at 8.2%

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%

Barnwell

8.2%

Northamptonshire’s towns

18%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language98%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.8%

Another main language, little or no English0%

BarnwellNorthamptonshire’s townsEngland’s towns

98% of residents have English as their main language; across England’s towns the figure is 90%. On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (5.9%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%).

Ethnicity & religion

58% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 89% of UK towns don’t reach

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

BarnwellNorthamptonshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White5.9%

Asian1.5%

Mixed0.5%

Black0.5%

Other0%

0%7%14%

White British, not charted: 92% of Barnwell · Northamptonshire’s towns 77% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

BarnwellNorthamptonshire’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion37%

Christian58%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.8%

Other religion0%

Didn’t answer4.4%

0%35%70%

There is little gap on residents with no religion: 37%, about the same as across England’s towns. To put it in context, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (5.9%), Indian (0.8%) and Chinese (0.8%).

Relationships & caring

Below 95% of UK towns: 24% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership24%

Married or civil partnership55%

Separated3.6%

Divorced12%

Widowed6%

BarnwellNorthamptonshire’s townsEngland’s towns

28residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 7.3%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week3.9%

20 to 49 hours1.6%

50 hours or more1.8%

Unpaid carers: 7.3% here and 8.7% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.

Qualifications

Adults qualified to degree level or above: 43%

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications12%

Apprenticeship4.1%

A levels or similar16%

Degree level43%

BarnwellNorthamptonshire’s townsEngland’s towns

At degree level, Barnwell counts 43% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 12% have no qualification (18%).

Neighbours

No nearby town is as old as Barnwell

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

OundleWarmingtonThrapstonBrigstockRingsteadWoodfordSawtryBarnwell

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Barnwell	391	—	52.4	27%	22%
Oundle	6,252	2.4 mi	43.8	23%	24%
Warmington	1,045	4.4 mi	50.7	27%	26%
Thrapston	7,239	5 mi	40.8	16%	31%
Brigstock	1,436	6.4 mi	50.9	25%	25%
Ringstead	1,369	7 mi	48.4	25%	26%
Woodford	1,472	7 mi	51.7	28%	20%
Sawtry	5,870	7.3 mi	43.6	20%	28%

More about Barnwell’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

“Northamptonshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Northamptonshire (or England), summed the same way as Barnwell’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 Barnwell’s residents

What is the population of Barnwell?

The 2021 Census counted 391 people in Barnwell’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Barnwell?

The median age was 52.4 at the 2021 Census. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Barnwell?

92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 77% across Northamptonshire’s towns. 8.2% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Barnwell?

37% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.4% didn’t answer.

Is Barnwell good for families?

22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Barnwell’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.