Photo: English wikipedia · Public domainA higher share of one-person households than 80% of UK towns, at 34%
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 8.8%, against 12% across England’s towns. For Netley, the census puts households with dependent children at 25%. Higher than in 74% of UK towns: 45% of residents said they have no religion. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 6,309, in 2,833 households.
Older than 72% of UK towns: half of Netley is over 47.5
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 7.6% of residents. Netley has more residents aged 65 and over than 73% of UK towns, at 25%. In Barton on Sea, the oldest of Hampshire’s towns by this measure, it is 51%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Netley, 47.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
Fewer full-time students than 88% of UK towns: 3.9%
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%.
35% of Netley’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 23% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. On the census count, one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Netley households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 79% of UK towns
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.
For Netley, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 2.3%.
More flats than 88% of UK towns: 23% of households in Netley
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
A fifth of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. For Netley, the census puts households without a car or van at 14%.
In Netley, 98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 57% 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 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 11% (England’s towns: 21%). Across the comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.4%) or in Africa (1.2%).
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 59% of UK towns, at 48%
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: 92% of Netley · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (4.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (0.5%). Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 92% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns.
31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 60% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 165 residents. Across the comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here.
Degree-level qualifications: 30% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
17% of Netley’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 30% have one at degree level (34%).
709 UK towns of 4,000 to 9,000 people: this is the 250th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Netley in age: Hildenborough (47.5), Heathfield (47.5), Holbury (47.5) and Silsden (47.6).
Around Netley, 2 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netley | 6,309 | — | 47.5 | 25% | 25% |
| Hamble-le-Rice | 4,613 | 1.4 mi | 47.6 | 23% | 24% |
| Bursledon | 8,072 | 1.6 mi | 38.5 | 15% | 31% |
| Hythe and Dibden Purlieu | 19,857 | 2.8 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 24% |
| Locks Heath | 35,744 | 3.4 mi | 45.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Hedge End | 23,195 | 3.5 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 34% |
| Holbury | 7,339 | 3.5 mi | 47.5 | 25% | 25% |
| Southampton | 249,633 | 3.7 mi | 34.7 | 14% | 27% |
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 Netley’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 Netley’s residents
What is the population of Netley?
The 2021 Census counted 6,309 people in Netley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Netley?
The median age was 47.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 72% of UK towns. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Netley?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Netley?
45% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Netley good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Netley’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.