Photo: Robin Webster · CC BY-SA 2.03.8% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 89% of UK towns
The share of households in detached houses is 47%, against 21% across England’s towns. Census figures put adults who have never married at 27% in Barrow. Higher than in 73% of UK towns: 25% of residents are 65 or over. At the 2021 Census, 1,961 people lived in the village, in 844 households.
A median age of 45.3: Barrow is older than 56% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 45–49 than any other five-year age: 6.9% of residents. On residents aged 15 to 24, Barrow sits lower than 58% of UK towns: 9.5%. In Halesworth, the oldest of Suffolk’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
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. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 74% of UK towns: 4.3%
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Barrow, 38% and 22%. 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a higher share than in 89% of UK towns. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Only 27% of households in Barrow are one person living alone
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Suffolk’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
In Barrow the average household is 2.3 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. One-person households: 30% across England’s towns, for comparison. On households with dependent children, Barrow sits lower than 52% of UK towns: 27%.
Households without a car or van: 9.8%, a lower share than 83% 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%).
Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Barrow, more than in 98% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
43% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, nine in ten residents have English as their main language. The census found that 6.9% of residents were born outside the UK in Barrow.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 68% of UK towns, at 44%
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 Barrow · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian; in Barrow, 50%. The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 93% of the total.
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 84% of UK towns, at 54%
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
49 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. Fewer unpaid carers than in 91% of UK towns: 7.6%.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 31%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Barrow, 31%, and 18% have none, against 18%.
1 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Barrow
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrow | 1,961 | — | 45.3 | 25% | 27% |
| Kentford | 1,124 | 4.2 mi | 39.9 | 19% | 34% |
| Bury St Edmunds | 41,279 | 5.5 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 23% |
| Red Lodge | 5,771 | 5.6 mi | 30.9 | 6.1% | 38% |
| Newmarket | 18,857 | 7.6 mi | 40.2 | 18% | 23% |
| Cock and End | 1,346 | 7.8 mi | 34.9 | 3% | 21% |
| Mildenhall | 9,684 | 7.9 mi | 38.2 | 19% | 26% |
| Great Barton | 1,848 | 8.2 mi | 54.2 | 35% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Suffolk’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Suffolk (or England), summed the same way as Barrow’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 Barrow’s residents
What is the population of Barrow?
The 2021 Census counted 1,961 people in Barrow’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Barrow?
The median age was 45.3 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Barrow?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 6.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Barrow?
44% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Barrow good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Barrow’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.