London Population | Growth, Density & Home Ownership Statistics

Name: London Population by Postcode
Creator: Property Investments UK

London is the UK's biggest property market by a distance, and the 2021 Census counted nearly 8.8 million people across its 33 boroughs. That is 7.1% more than in 2011, but the headline number hides the real story: the capital is pulling in two directions at once.

The outer boroughs are growing fast. Tower Hamlets added 22.1% and Barking and Dagenham 17.7%. Central London, meanwhile, is shrinking. Westminster lost 6.9% of its residents over the decade, Kensington and Chelsea 9.6%, and Camden 4.6%. For anyone weighing up a London buy-to-let, that split between a busy outer ring and a hollowing-out centre is the first thing to understand.

Article updated: July 2026

London also rents more than anywhere else in the country. Just 46.7% of households own their home, against 62.3% nationally, and private renting runs at 30.1% versus 20.6% across England. The tables below break the 2021 Census down by every London postcode and borough, so you can see where the people, the renters and the density actually sit, whether you buy in the capital or look further out to the London commuter belt.

London Population by Borough and Postcode

This table sets out the 2021 Census for every London postcode, grouped by borough and ranked by population within each. The inner-city postcodes carry the highest densities, with Elephant and Castle (SE17) topping 48,000 people per square mile, while the outer boroughs spread similar numbers over far more ground. Watch the density column to see where the capital is most tightly packed.

Barking and Dagenham

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
IG11	Barking	50,081	18,064	17,647
RM8	Becontree	38,998	14,839	24,455
RM10	Dagenham	37,850	14,605	19,507
RM9	Dagenham	35,449	13,392	13,928
RM6	Chadwell Heath	32,908	12,193	9,006
RM7	Romford	27,411	11,075	12,054
RM5	Collier Row	19,022	7,564	15,295

Barnet

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
EN5	Barnet	37,049	15,193	5,968
NW11	Golders Green	32,571	11,870	16,636
NW4	Hendon	31,745	11,510	15,249
N12	North Finchley	28,741	11,454	17,948
N10	Muswell Hill	27,532	11,308	18,916
N3	Finchley	26,584	10,470	17,452
EN4	Barnet	25,767	10,077	5,987
NW7	Mill Hill	25,131	9,375	7,165
N2	East Finchley	23,878	9,608	13,044
N20	Whetstone	18,967	7,284	8,731

Bexley

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
DA16	Welling	35,896	13,636	16,173
DA7	Bexleyheath	34,811	13,909	14,442
DA8	Erith	32,927	12,927	12,128
DA15	Sidcup	29,123	11,279	13,616
DA14	Sidcup	21,876	9,681	7,761
DA5	Bexley	20,525	8,158	6,610
DA17	Belvedere	17,128	6,939	11,817
DA6	Bexleyheath	10,053	4,120	10,770
DA18	Thamesmead	4,851	1,920	12,974

Brent

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
NW10	Willesden	91,820	34,410	18,402
NW2	Cricklewood	67,393	25,716	21,704
NW6	Kilburn	62,056	28,504	35,370
NW9	Colindale	59,320	20,291	18,265
HA0	Wembley	48,613	14,984	20,964
HA9	Wembley Park	47,505	15,578	19,371

Bromley

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
BR1	Bromley	55,931	23,202	12,398
BR3	Beckenham	47,386	21,124	10,385
BR6	Orpington	46,065	18,982	3,806
BR5	Orpington	45,923	18,903	8,877
BR2	Bromley	44,903	18,993	5,610
SE20	Penge	22,821	10,461	23,410
BR8	Swanley	22,044	9,182	4,592
BR4	West Wickham	19,349	7,384	8,953
BR7	Chislehurst	17,322	7,079	5,490

Camden

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
NW1	Camden	60,294	26,142	25,578
NW3	Hampstead	51,644	23,675	19,533
NW5	Kentish Town	30,948	13,197	35,139

City of London

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
EC2	Liverpool Street	4,695	2,786	16,435
EC4	Blackfriars	1,181	795	8,953
EC3	Aldgate	395	232	6,275

Croydon

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
CR0	Croydon	153,803	61,879	12,838
CR2	South Croydon	48,427	19,825	9,088
CR7	Thornton Heath	44,620	16,261	28,071
SE25	South Norwood	34,495	14,941	21,755
CR8	Purley	32,301	12,328	6,765
CR5	Coulsdon	28,761	11,045	3,377
CR3	Caterham	28,748	11,694	3,066
SE19	Crystal Palace	27,638	12,688	16,753
CR6	Warlingham	9,881	4,038	1,575

Ealing

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
UB6	Greenford	50,948	17,331	13,473
W3	Acton	50,534	20,131	20,330
W5	Ealing	49,952	20,537	16,246
UB3	Hayes	48,474	16,057	13,355
UB5	Northolt	45,158	16,515	16,755
UB1	Southall	39,848	11,271	18,082
UB2	Southall	32,044	9,557	15,830
W13	West Ealing	31,771	13,108	23,938
W7	Hanwell	28,739	11,065	19,203

Enfield

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
EN3	Enfield	55,687	20,585	14,155
N9	Edmonton	51,422	19,260	20,447
EN1	Enfield	45,671	17,862	14,628
N13	Palmers Green	31,681	12,275	19,740
N18	Upper Edmonton	31,598	11,300	21,387
EN2	Enfield	29,471	12,612	4,591
N21	Winchmore Hill	23,578	9,274	10,651

Greenwich

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
SE18	Woolwich	75,840	29,245	19,534
SE13	Lewisham	40,848	17,849	27,051
SE3	Blackheath	31,311	13,918	13,830
SE28	Thamesmead	29,318	10,497	14,322
SE12	Lee	27,353	11,576	12,719
SE2	Abbey Wood	26,672	10,135	15,254
SE10	Greenwich	23,744	10,714	24,115
SE7	Charlton	20,399	7,979	14,551

Hackney

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
N1	Islington	89,893	41,092	38,774
N16	Stoke Newington	68,432	26,197	37,831
E5	Clapton	47,669	18,830	34,096
E2	Bethnal Green	46,216	19,208	43,853
E8	Dalston	39,071	17,168	39,808
E9	Homerton	38,236	15,900	26,100

Hammersmith and Fulham

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
SW6	Fulham	64,994	28,492	31,865
W12	Shepherd's Bush	48,273	20,107	26,496
W14	West Kensington	37,166	17,669	37,984
W6	Hammersmith	35,669	15,841	30,860

Haringey

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
N17	Tottenham	62,843	23,385	25,748
N4	Finsbury Park	46,277	20,094	35,386
N15	Seven Sisters	44,541	16,783	32,439
N22	Wood Green	42,996	17,154	22,101
N8	Crouch End	39,673	17,208	22,799
N6	Highgate	19,407	8,905	14,508

Harrow

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
HA3	Kenton	70,809	23,415	15,470
HA8	Edgware	64,905	22,389	14,739
HA2	North Harrow	55,273	19,214	17,970
HA5	Pinner	44,534	17,478	9,557
HA1	Harrow	38,441	14,182	15,996
HA7	Stanmore	35,976	12,758	9,511

Havering

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
RM3	Harold Hill	40,267	16,854	9,880
RM12	Hornchurch	34,603	14,161	13,372
RM11	Hornchurch	31,338	12,365	11,082
RM13	Rainham	28,416	11,385	3,568
RM14	Upminster	26,905	10,842	1,322
RM1	Romford	20,053	8,622	12,706
RM2	Gidea Park	13,240	5,646	12,900
RM4	Havering-atte-Bower	4,290	1,804	2,333

Hillingdon

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
HA4	Ruislip	50,092	19,437	10,037
UB3	Hayes	48,474	16,057	13,355
UB4	Yeading	39,573	13,294	13,843
UB8	Uxbridge	36,116	12,680	12,708
UB10	Hillingdon	33,615	12,519	8,026
UB7	West Drayton	29,741	11,098	7,048
HA6	Northwood	21,901	8,809	4,860
UB9	Denham	14,336	5,979	2,153

Hounslow

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
W4	Chiswick	44,335	19,885	17,746
TW3	Hounslow	39,554	13,394	26,209
TW7	Isleworth	37,586	14,502	16,942
TW13	Feltham	36,127	13,887	12,342
TW5	Heston	29,196	9,278	15,463
TW14	Hatton	27,980	10,401	11,653
TW4	Hounslow	27,899	9,139	17,884
TW8	Brentford	19,673	8,562	15,653

Islington

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
N7	Holloway	46,850	20,847	38,387
N19	Archway	33,784	15,114	36,904
EC1	Clerkenwell	27,082	13,224	32,637
N5	Highbury	24,725	11,308	38,034

Kensington and Chelsea

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
W10	Ladbroke Grove	33,638	14,649	23,275
W11	Notting Hill	31,354	15,349	30,122
SW3	Chelsea	22,086	11,745	21,566
W8	Kensington	20,390	9,441	25,274
SW7	South Kensington	19,583	9,146	18,929
SW10	West Brompton	18,510	9,347	36,429
SW5	Earls Court	15,272	8,233	45,088

Kingston upon Thames

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
KT3	New Malden	38,055	14,189	13,187
KT2	Kingston upon Thames	31,551	12,470	10,610
KT6	Surbiton	31,378	13,423	15,669
KT4	Worcester Park	28,680	11,340	12,948
KT1	Kingston upon Thames	21,979	9,256	17,269
KT5	Surbiton	20,856	8,183	13,813

Lambeth

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
SW16	Streatham	81,543	32,169	23,132
SW2	Brixton	54,204	23,095	35,239
SW9	Stockwell	42,067	18,051	41,872
SW4	Clapham	39,633	17,099	32,448
SW8	Nine Elms	35,138	15,634	35,257
SE11	Kennington	21,589	9,615	34,141
SE27	West Norwood	21,358	8,859	23,538
SE24	Herne Hill	18,761	7,796	22,141
SE21	Dulwich	15,257	6,069	9,546

Lewisham

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
SE15	Peckham	63,647	25,387	31,322
SE6	Catford	53,011	21,172	20,483
SE23	Forest Hill	33,682	14,629	21,886
SE4	Brockley	28,595	11,864	23,797
SE26	Sydenham	28,455	12,506	19,687
SE8	Deptford	27,490	11,577	34,673
SE14	New Cross	24,781	9,972	27,140

Merton

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
SW19	Wimbledon	77,441	32,804	22,912
SW17	Tooting	64,566	25,928	27,223
SM4	Morden	36,292	13,783	16,581
SW20	Raynes Park	28,402	11,682	14,713

Newham

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
E6	East Ham	78,955	24,340	24,255
E7	Forest Gate	54,565	16,334	37,681
E15	Stratford	52,199	19,564	26,834
E3	Bow	51,618	20,152	38,835
E13	Plaistow	46,912	15,569	38,980
E16	Canning Town	44,880	17,163	19,084
E12	Manor Park	41,869	12,572	24,052
E20	Stratford	0	0	0

Redbridge

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
IG1	Ilford	63,569	19,899	26,559
E11	Leytonstone	55,128	21,725	18,380
IG8	Woodford Green	35,894	14,254	7,523
IG3	Seven Kings	35,543	11,018	23,919
IG2	Gants Hill	28,254	9,291	20,147
IG6	Barkingside	27,822	10,716	13,845
IG7	Chigwell	19,991	7,789	3,698
E18	South Woodford	19,022	8,136	19,370
IG5	Clayhall	16,823	5,713	18,649
IG4	Redbridge	9,455	2,953	21,419

Richmond upon Thames

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
TW2	Twickenham	30,276	12,225	13,768
TW1	Twickenham	26,065	11,233	14,636
TW12	Hampton	23,227	9,829	9,751
TW11	Teddington	23,198	10,003	9,534
TW9	Kew	21,556	9,897	9,626
TW10	Richmond	19,291	8,535	5,739
SW14	Mortlake	16,714	7,019	17,084
SW13	Barnes	15,873	6,697	11,530

Southwark

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
SE1	Waterloo	66,777	29,678	35,535
SE5	Camberwell	46,209	18,836	33,077
SE16	Rotherhithe	45,831	20,327	33,699
SE17	Elephant and Castle	31,522	13,057	48,587
SE22	East Dulwich	29,687	12,633	20,823

Sutton

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
SM1	Sutton	38,241	16,336	19,421
SM5	Carshalton	37,962	15,013	11,459
SM6	Wallington	36,166	15,048	13,898
SM2	Sutton	28,260	12,260	10,472
SM3	North Cheam	21,079	7,943	16,410
SM7	Banstead	18,502	7,265	4,216

Tower Hamlets

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
E1	Whitechapel	81,940	31,294	43,893
E14	Canary Wharf	79,760	33,339	40,570

Waltham Forest

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
E17	Walthamstow	102,968	38,408	28,017
E4	Chingford	60,225	23,890	9,367
E10	Leyton	42,953	15,235	28,007

Wandsworth

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
SW11	Battersea	70,152	31,222	30,346
SW15	Putney	60,344	25,547	12,140
SW18	Wandsworth	59,806	25,049	25,107
SW12	Balham	31,261	13,344	29,428

Westminster

Postcode	Area	Population (2021)	Households	Density (per sq mile)
SW1	Westminster	52,478	27,001	21,985
W2	Bayswater	47,574	23,538	35,885
W9	Maida Vale	37,724	17,573	44,192
W1	Mayfair	29,383	15,291	19,384
WC1	Bloomsbury	28,337	12,372	28,460
WC2	Covent Garden	6,478	3,340	15,150

Where London Is Growing and Shrinking

London's population is not moving in one direction. The fastest growth since 2011 came from the outer and eastern boroughs, led by Tower Hamlets (22.1%) and Barking and Dagenham (17.7%) on the back of new housing and younger residents.

Central London told the opposite story. Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Camden all lost residents over the decade. Home ownership follows the same divide, ranging from 70.5% in Havering out east to just 25.7% in Tower Hamlets, while the highest private-rental rates sit in the City of London (48.4%) and Westminster (43.6%). It is the same divide we map borough by borough in our Property Investments UK guides.

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