Photo: Andrew Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0

49.9Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Sonning sits below 98% of UK towns for adults who have never married (22%)

Where 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, Sonning has 8.1%. The village had 1,615 residents in 627 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 53% of households live in a detached house. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as White British: 76% here, fewer than in 88% of UK towns.

26%aged 65 or over 16%born abroad 627households

Ages

Half of Sonning is over 49.9, older than 84% of UK towns

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

SonningEngland’s towns

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

Residents aged 65 and over: 26%, above nearly four fifths of UK towns. 45–49 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1515%

15 to 248.2%

25 to 4418%

45 to 6432%

65 and over26%

SonningBerkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

Sonning

England

WomenMen

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

Students & newcomers

More students than 66% of UK towns: 5.2% of adults in Sonning

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 students5.2%

Higher managerial and professional28%

Lower managerial and professional25%

Intermediate11%

Small employers and self-employed13%

Supervisory and technical2%

Semi-routine6.7%

Routine3.7%

Never worked or long-term unemployed5.3%

SonningBerkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

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

Sonning

9.6%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

144

residents, 9%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

1.2× England’s share

The share of residents who moved in within the year tops 56% of UK towns: 9%. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.

Households

Sonning households average 2.4 people, larger than in 84% of UK towns

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

Living alone, 66+ 14%Living alone, under 66 12%Families with dependent children 28%Couples and families, no young children 42%Shared houses and other 4.3%

Against Berkshire’s towns and England’s towns

Sonning

Berkshire’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person26%

2 people35%

3 people17%

4 people16%

5 or more6.3%

England’s towns.

Sonning sits close to the norm on shared households of unrelated adults: 4.3%, about the same as across England’s towns. On one-person households, Sonning sits lower than nearly four fifths of UK towns: 26%. The census found that 28% of households have dependent children here.

Homes & cars

Below 87% of UK towns: 9.1% of households have no car or van

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

Type of home

Sonning

Berkshire’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van9.1%

One34%

Two38%

Three or more20%

SonningBerkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

In Sonning, one in ten households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. About one household in 11 lives without a car or van. The village has fewer households in terraced houses than 85% of UK towns, at 12%.

Where people were born

16% born outside the UK, more than in 88% 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 30%

Sonning

16%

Berkshire’s towns

25%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

SonningEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language95%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well4.4%

Another main language, little or no English0.4%

SonningBerkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (5.9%) and in EU countries (4%). For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. Fewer residents whose main language is English than in 78% of UK towns: 95%. 7.3% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

No religion: 30% of residents, a lower share than 93% 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

SonningBerkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White5.7%

Asian14%

Mixed2.2%

Black0.4%

Other2%

0%11%22%

White British, not charted: 76% of Sonning · Berkshire’s towns 62% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

SonningBerkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion30%

Christian49%

Muslim2.8%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist11%

Other religion0.4%

Didn’t answer6.4%

0%30%60%

Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 49% here and 46% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion. Next after White British come Indian (10%), Other White (5.7%) and Mixed or multiple (2.2%).

Relationships & caring

60% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 98% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership22%

Married or civil partnership60%

Separated2.1%

Divorced7.1%

Widowed9%

SonningBerkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

137residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 8.8%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.6%

20 to 49 hours1.2%

50 hours or more1.9%

Sonning sits close to the norm on unpaid carers: 8.8%, about the same as across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. 30 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week.

Qualifications

Degree-level qualifications reach 52% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications11%

Apprenticeship4.1%

A levels or similar11%

Degree level52%

SonningBerkshire’s townsEngland’s towns

Against 34% across England’s towns, 52% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 11% hold no qualification (18%).

Neighbours

The towns around Sonning are all younger

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

WoodleyCharvilTwyfordHurstWinnershCavershamWargraveSonning

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Sonning	1,615	—	49.9	26%	28%
Woodley	28,019	1 mi	41.6	19%	33%
Charvil	3,158	1.2 mi	44.2	17%	41%
Twyford	8,072	2.1 mi	43.7	20%	31%
Hurst	1,009	2.3 mi	47.1	18%	36%
Winnersh	8,904	2.7 mi	39.1	14%	38%
Caversham	33,038	2.8 mi	41.8	18%	32%
Wargrave	2,896	3.1 mi	48	25%	30%

More about Sonning’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health A⁻Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute A⁺Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living B⁻Owners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools AEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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

What is the population of Sonning?

The 2021 Census counted 1,615 people in Sonning’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Sonning?

The median age was 49.9 at the 2021 Census. 8.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Sonning?

76% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 62% across Berkshire’s towns. 16% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Sonning?

30% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.8% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.

Is Sonning good for families?

28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sonning’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.