Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households in flats than 92% of UK towns, at 26%
Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion; in Alton, 43%. There were 7,883 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 17,883 residents. In Alton, 32% of households are one person living alone. Households with dependent children are rarer here than in 64% of UK towns.
From 2011 to 2024, Alton outgrew 74% of UK towns: +14%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Alton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 16,300 people in 2011; 18,500 in 2024.
Between mid-2022 and mid-2023 the population rose by 440, its biggest one-year gain. Change by age ran from +40% for the 65 and over to +1% for the 16 to 29.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 54% of UK towns: 22%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 7.2% of residents. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. The median age in Alton is 44.4, lower than in 51% of UK towns. Against a figure of 12% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Alton comes in at 9.9%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Alton, 44.4. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
A lower share of full-time students than 60% of UK towns, at 4.6%
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, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Alton has 10%. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Smaller households than 63% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Hampshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 2.6% in Alton and 4.3% across England’s towns.
Only 22% of households in Alton live in a detached house
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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 16% of households have no car or van here. On average, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Alton: 9.9% of residents born outside the UK
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (4.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.4%). As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 97% here, fewer than in 67% of UK towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 17% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
In Alton, 90% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 65% 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: 90% of Alton · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 46% across England’s towns, nearly half of residents describe themselves as Christian here. The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 73% across England’s towns. Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (5.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Indian (0.6%).
8% of residents give unpaid care, below 83% 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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 351. Measured more widely, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 44%.
Among adults, 35% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Alton counts 35% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 15% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 33 in Bentley & Holybourne to 48 in Alton Ashdell, Whitedown & Amery
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Alton Ashdell, Whitedown & Amery is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Bentley & Holybourne the youngest (median age 33). Families with children are most common in Bentley & Holybourne (39% of households).
Ranked by age, 138th oldest of 308 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Alton in age: Hessle (44.4), Newport (44.4), Bideford (44.4) and Amersham (44.5).
Alton is younger than 3 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alton | 17,883 | — | 44.4 | 22% | 26% |
| Holybourne | 1,304 | 1.4 mi | 46.9 | 23% | 24% |
| Four Marks | 5,613 | 4.4 mi | 45.2 | 22% | 33% |
| Bentley | 1,406 | 5 mi | 47 | 25% | 34% |
| Whitehill | 5,178 | 5.6 mi | 43.6 | 19% | 26% |
| Bordon | 9,349 | 5.6 mi | 35.3 | 11% | 35% |
| Lindford | 2,740 | 5.9 mi | 44.4 | 20% | 27% |
| Odiham | 5,091 | 7.1 mi | 38.8 | 19% | 31% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Hampshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Hampshire (or England), summed the same way as Alton’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Alton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 17,322 people in 2021, against 17,883 in the built-up area.
- 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 Alton’s residents
What is the population of Alton?
The 2021 Census counted 17,883 people in Alton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 18,500 people in mid-2024, 14% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Alton?
The median age was 44.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 51% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Alton?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 9.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Alton?
43% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Alton good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Bentley & Holybourne (39% of households). Schools are on Alton’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.