Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Sway is over 55.9, older than 97% of UK towns
Here two thirds of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. Few places have so few households in terraced houses: 8.2% here, fewer than in 93% of UK towns. There were 1,013 households in Sway at the 2021 Census, home to 2,437 residents. For Sway, the census puts married adults and civil partners at 58%.
What the Census says about Sway’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Sway’s residents are under 55.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 36% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
36% of residents are 65 or over, a share 98% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: 8.2% of residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 7.8% in Sway.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
Full-time students make up 4% in Sway, less than in 84% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 44% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 16% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Across Sway, 8.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Fewer family households than 89% of UK towns: 22% in Sway
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.
Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Sway. For Sway, the census puts one-person households at 27%. Across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 29%.
Households in flats: 3%, a lower share than 93% 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
8.4% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
99% of residents have English as their main language, a share 84% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.1%), then in Africa (1.7%). For residents whose main language is English, the comparison across England’s towns is 90%. 7% of residents were born outside the UK (England’s towns: 18%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 55% in Sway, more than in 82% 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 Sway · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
37% of residents said they have no religion, about the same as across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 46% across England’s towns. Across Sway, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British.
21% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 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
The figure for unpaid carers is 10% in Sway and 8.7% across England’s towns. Adults who have never married: 39% across England’s towns, for comparison. For 63 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 41%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
13% of Sway’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 41% have one at degree level (34%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Sway
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sway | 2,437 | — | 55.9 | 36% | 22% |
| Ashley | 7,730 | 2.3 mi | 51.2 | 30% | 23% |
| Hordle | 1,158 | 2.4 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 25% |
| Brockenhurst | 3,484 | 2.5 mi | 55.1 | 34% | 23% |
| Everton | 1,615 | 3 mi | 62.9 | 47% | 17% |
| Lymington | 14,870 | 3.3 mi | 52.9 | 32% | 20% |
| New Milton | 11,872 | 3.3 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 20% |
| Barton on Sea | 6,763 | 4.1 mi | 65.3 | 51% | 11% |
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 Sway’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 Sway’s residents
What is the population of Sway?
The 2021 Census counted 2,437 people in Sway’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sway?
The median age was 55.9 at the 2021 Census. 7.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 36% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sway?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sway?
37% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Sway good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sway’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.