Photo: Peter Trimming · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Botley is under 36.9, younger than 92% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%; Botley has 23%. This Hampshire town counted 5,900 residents and 2,367 households at the 2021 Census. Residents with no religion: 47% of the total. Few places have so few households without a car or van: 8.7% here, fewer than in 89% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Botley’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Botley at 3,200 in 2011 and 7,200 in 2024, up 122%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 99% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
A town of families
35% of Botley’s 2,367 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 94% of UK towns. 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Botley’s residents are under 36.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 8.3% are 15 to 24 and 17% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
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.
Botley grew +122% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 99% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Botley’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,200 people in 2011; 7,200 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 710 people. Of the age groups, 0 to 15 changed most (+249%) and 65 and over least (+30%).
In Botley, 8.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 90% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Compared with 18% across England’s towns, 17% of residents are 65 or over here. The usual figure: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Botley, 36.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 81% of UK towns: 4.1% of adults are full-time students
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%.
Where 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, Botley has 12%. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
Above 94% of UK towns: 35% of households have dependent children
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 typical household size is 2.5 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Against that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 54% of UK towns.
Households in detached houses: 38%, a higher share than 73% 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
18% of households live in a terraced house; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. Households in flats account for 9.9%. As a reference point, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Above 61% of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language
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
Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 14% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%). The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.6%) and in Africa (1.5%). 6.7% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 53% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%.
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 57% of UK towns, at 91%
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: 91% of Botley · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (3.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and African (1%).
51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 71% of UK towns don’t reach
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
115 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 93% of UK towns. The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%. Where 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, Botley has 32%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 36% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 36% of adults in Botley (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 11% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 34 in Hedge End North & Botley North to 47 in Hedge End Wildern & Botley South
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.
Hedge End Wildern & Botley South is the oldest area, with 27% aged 65 or over; Hedge End North & Botley North the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Hedge End North & Botley North (43% of households).
Of 624 UK towns its size (4,000 to 8,000 people), the 46th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Botley in age: Wootton (36.6), Partington (36.7), Thurcroft (37) and Elvetham Heath (37).
The towns around Botley are all 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botley | 5,900 | — | 36.9 | 17% | 35% |
| Hedge End | 23,195 | 1.3 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 34% |
| Horton Heath | 3,047 | 2 mi | 41 | 13% | 34% |
| West End | 10,865 | 2.8 mi | 46.8 | 24% | 23% |
| Whiteley | 9,350 | 3 mi | 38.6 | 11% | 39% |
| Bursledon | 8,072 | 3.1 mi | 38.5 | 15% | 31% |
| Waltham Chase | 2,830 | 3.3 mi | 43.7 | 20% | 30% |
| Bishop's Waltham | 6,957 | 3.4 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 24% |
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 Botley’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. Botley’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,372 people in 2021, against 5,900 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 Botley’s residents
What is the population of Botley?
The 2021 Census counted 5,900 people in Botley’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 7,200 people in mid-2024, 122% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Botley?
The median age was 36.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 92% of UK towns. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Botley?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 6.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Botley?
47% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Botley good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Hedge End North & Botley North (43% of households). Schools are on Botley’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.