Photo: Hassocks5489 · CC0Half of Shirrell Heath is over 52.8, older than 94% of UK towns
By its share of households in detached houses (78%), Shirrell Heath is above 99% of UK towns. There were 307 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 750 residents. For Shirrell Heath, the census puts households in terraced houses at 2.3%. A third of residents said they have no religion, a lower share than in 87% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 29% in Shirrell Heath, more than in 87% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Young people aged 15 to 24 make up nearly one in ten residents, against 12% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
More students than 92% of UK towns: 7.2% of adults in Shirrell Heath
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%.
On residents who moved in within the year, 11% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A smaller share of one-person households than 98% of UK towns: 20%
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.
There is little gap on shared households of unrelated adults: 3.6%, about the same as across England’s towns. As a reference point, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Households here average 2.4 people each. Nearly a quarter of households have dependent children, fewer than in 83% of UK towns.
Below 98% of UK towns: 5.6% of households have no car or van
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, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment; in Shirrell Heath, 2.9%. Against that, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 76% of UK towns: 4.1%
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Set against 90% across England’s towns, 99% of residents have English as their main language in Shirrell Heath. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%).
Shirrell Heath: 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, above 97% 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: 97% of Shirrell Heath · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 61%, against 46% across England’s towns. For residents who describe themselves as White British, the comparison across England’s towns is 73%.
64% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 99% 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
Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 9%, close to the figure across England’s towns. On average, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Locally, 23% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Qualified to degree level: 41% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 41% of adults in Shirrell Heath (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 12% (England’s towns: 18%). The highest qualification of 16% is A levels, often students still at university.
The towns around Shirrell Heath are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shirrell Heath | 750 | — | 52.8 | 29% | 23% |
| Waltham Chase | 2,830 | 0.9 mi | 43.7 | 20% | 30% |
| Swanmore | 3,113 | 1.2 mi | 45.8 | 22% | 33% |
| Wickham | 2,170 | 1.7 mi | 48.6 | 29% | 23% |
| Bishop's Waltham | 6,957 | 2.4 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 24% |
| Knowle | 1,487 | 3.1 mi | 35.2 | 6.7% | 28% |
| Botley | 5,900 | 3.9 mi | 36.9 | 17% | 35% |
| Whiteley | 9,350 | 4.1 mi | 38.6 | 11% | 39% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Shirrell Heath’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 Shirrell Heath’s residents
What is the population of Shirrell Heath?
The 2021 Census counted 750 people in Shirrell Heath’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shirrell Heath?
The median age was 52.8 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shirrell Heath?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shirrell Heath?
33% said they had no religion and 61% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Shirrell Heath good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shirrell Heath’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.