Photo: Pasicles · CC0Half of Ashley is over 51.2, older than 90% of UK towns
28% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. In 2021, the Census found 7,730 residents in Ashley, living in 3,352 households. Households in detached houses: 46% of the total. On households with dependent children, Ashley sits lower than 86% of UK towns: 23%.
What the Census says about Ashley’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Ashley’s residents are under 51.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Ashley at 8,100 in 2011 and 8,000 in 2024, down 1%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 90% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Slower growth than 90% of UK towns: Ashley changed by −1% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ashley’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,100 people in 2011; 8,000 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+17%), the 0 to 15 group the smallest (−20%).
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 91% of UK towns, at 30%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with 7.9% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Ashley, 9.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ashley, 51.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
3.8% of adults are full-time students, below 88% of UK towns
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%.
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 8.1% in Ashley and 11% across England’s towns. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
Ashley sits above 79% of UK towns for shared households of unrelated adults (3.1%)
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.
In Ashley, 28% of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. On average, 2.3 people share a household. Shared households of unrelated adults: 4.3% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Ashley sits below 76% of UK towns for households without a car or van (11%)
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
16% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. On households in flats, Ashley sits lower than 65% of UK towns: 8.2%. In one household in 9 there is no car or van.
98% of residents have English as their main language, a share 64% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Born outside the UK: 5.5% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. Set beside that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%).
Ashley: 94% of residents describe themselves as White British, above 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: 94% of Ashley · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Ashley, 52% of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 46% across England’s towns. On average, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (2.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Indian (0.4%).
52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 73% 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 care takes 50 hours a week or more for 248 people. For married adults and civil partners, the comparison across England’s towns is 44%. 9.7% of residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Ashley, 26% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 18% have no qualification at all (18%).
From a median age of 44 in New Milton West to 55 in Hordle & Bashley
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.
Hordle & Bashley is the oldest area, with 35% aged 65 or over; New Milton West the youngest (median age 44). Families with children are most common in New Milton West (30% of households).
Among 538 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000 people, the 55th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Red Lodge (30.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Ashley in age: Ruskington (51.2), Keyworth (51.2), Kingsbridge (51.2) and Greasby (51.4).
Of the 7 towns nearest Ashley, 6 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley | 7,730 | — | 51.2 | 30% | 23% |
| New Milton | 11,872 | 1.1 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 20% |
| Hordle | 1,158 | 1.2 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 25% |
| Barton on Sea | 6,763 | 1.8 mi | 65.3 | 51% | 11% |
| Sway | 2,437 | 2.3 mi | 55.9 | 36% | 22% |
| Everton | 1,615 | 2.3 mi | 62.9 | 47% | 17% |
| Milford on Sea | 4,364 | 2.9 mi | 64.6 | 49% | 12% |
| Lymington | 14,870 | 3.8 mi | 52.9 | 32% | 20% |
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 Ashley’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. Ashley’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 8,040 people in 2021, against 7,730 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 Ashley’s residents
What is the population of Ashley?
The 2021 Census counted 7,730 people in Ashley’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 8,000 people in mid-2024, 1% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ashley?
The median age was 51.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 90% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ashley?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 5.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ashley?
41% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Ashley good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in New Milton West (30% of households). Schools are on Ashley’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.