Photo: Mr Ignavy · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Farnborough is under 38.8, younger than 86% of UK towns
A household here has 2.5 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Households with dependent children account for 32%. At 42%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in 89% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put Farnborough’s population at 60,665, in 23,935 households.
What the Census says about Farnborough’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Farnborough’s residents are under 38.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 16% 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.
Since 2011, Farnborough has changed by +6%, slower than 55% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Farnborough’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 57,800 people in 2011; 61,600 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+33%) and the 16 to 29 group least (−6%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2023 to mid-2024: 1,010 people.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 89% of UK towns: 16%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 11% in Farnborough and 12% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. 30–34 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Farnborough, 38.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Above 77% of UK towns: 10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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%.
5% of adults are full-time students (England’s towns: 7.9%). To put it in context, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Only 26% of households are one person living alone in Farnborough
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.
At 4.6%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is in line with the figure across England’s towns. One-person households make up 30% across England’s towns.
More flats than 89% of UK towns: 23% of households in Farnborough
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
Across England’s towns, 24% of households live in a terraced house; in Farnborough, 23%. Locally, 14% of households have no car or van. Fewer households in detached houses than in 74% of UK towns: 20%.
Above 93% of UK towns: 21% of residents were 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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (11%) and in EU countries (5.5%). Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Farnborough has fewer residents whose main language is English than 95% of UK towns, at 88%.
Farnborough sits below 89% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (75%)
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: 75% of Farnborough · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The Muslim share of residents is 2%. To put it in context, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Asked about religion, 41% answered none, against 37% across England’s towns.
A lower share of unpaid carers than 93% of UK towns, at 7.3%
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
By its share of adults who have never married (35%), Farnborough is above 67% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 1,199.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 32% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Farnborough, 32% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 16% have no qualification at all (18%).
From a median age of 29 in Blackwater, Frogmore & Minley to 42 in Farnborough Hill
The town’s 8 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Farnborough Hill is the oldest area, with 19% aged 65 or over; Blackwater, Frogmore & Minley the youngest (median age 29). Families with children are most common in Blackwater, Frogmore & Minley (49% of households).
123 UK towns of 42,000 to 82,000 people: this is the 36th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Canterbury (27.5) and the oldest Lytham St Anne's (54.4). Nearest to Farnborough in age: Crewe (38.7), Rochester (38.8), Middleton (38.9) and Andover (38.9).
Of the 7 towns nearest Farnborough, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farnborough | 60,665 | — | 38.8 | 16% | 32% |
| Frimley | 15,101 | 1.8 mi | 43.9 | 20% | 32% |
| Hawley | 2,581 | 2.3 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 23% |
| Minley | 1,041 | 2.7 mi | 22.3 | 3.9% | 21% |
| Deepcut | 2,163 | 2.8 mi | 34.4 | 8.3% | 40% |
| Blackwater | 7,170 | 2.9 mi | 44.1 | 21% | 31% |
| Ash and Ash Vale | 24,284 | 3.1 mi | 42.9 | 19% | 28% |
| Camberley | 36,787 | 3.1 mi | 42.7 | 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 Farnborough’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. Farnborough’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 59,587 people in 2021, against 60,665 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 Farnborough’s residents
What is the population of Farnborough?
The 2021 Census counted 60,665 people in Farnborough’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 61,600 people in mid-2024, 6% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Farnborough?
The median age was 38.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 86% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Farnborough?
75% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 21% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Farnborough?
41% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Farnborough good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Blackwater, Frogmore & Minley (49% of households). Schools are on Farnborough’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.