Church of St James · Photo: Hassocks5489 · CC0In West End, 23% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 84% of UK towns
By its share of households in detached houses (42%), West End is above nearly four fifths of UK towns. One in ten households have no car or van, a lower share than in 81% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 10,865 residents in 4,868 households. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.9% locally.
West End grew +9% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 57% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. West End’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,800 people in 2011; 11,700 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2021 to mid-2022, up 300 people. The 65 and over age group changed most (+43%) and the 16 to 29 least (−5%).
Older than 67% of UK towns: half of West End is over 46.8
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 8% of residents. Higher than in 64% of UK towns: 24% of residents are 65 or over. In Barton on Sea, the oldest of Hampshire’s towns by this measure, it is 51%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ West End, 46.8. 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.
Only 4.1% of adults are full-time students in West End
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%.
8.2% of residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 73% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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 share of one-person households tops three fifths of UK towns: 31%. Across West End, 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Households in flats: 15%, a higher share than 68% 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
Households in terraced houses make up 17%, against 24% across England’s towns. The share of households in flats across England’s towns is 23%.
More residents born outside the UK than 70% of UK towns: 9%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (4.1%) or in the Middle East and Asia (2.4%). West End has fewer residents whose main language is English than 66% of UK towns, at 97%. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 12%.
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 89%, a lower share than 69% 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: 89% of West End · Hampshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%; West End has 42%. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns: 73%. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 49% of the total.
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 64% of UK towns: 50%
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
251 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. On adults who have never married, West End sits lower than 62% of UK towns: 31%. Elsewhere, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. This Hampshire town sits close to the norm on unpaid carers: 8.9%, about the same as across England’s towns.
30% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
West End’s adults: 30% with a degree-level qualification and 15% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Of 397 UK towns its size (8,000 to 15,000 people), the 111th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to West End in age: Hadleigh (46.7), Holbeach (46.8), Hawarden (46.8) and Ferryhill (46.9).
Around West End, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West End | 10,865 | — | 46.8 | 24% | 23% |
| Hedge End | 23,195 | 1.8 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 34% |
| Horton Heath | 3,047 | 2.5 mi | 41 | 13% | 34% |
| Southampton | 249,633 | 2.5 mi | 34.7 | 14% | 27% |
| Botley | 5,900 | 2.8 mi | 36.9 | 17% | 35% |
| Eastleigh | 48,355 | 2.9 mi | 39.2 | 17% | 31% |
| Bursledon | 8,072 | 3 mi | 38.5 | 15% | 31% |
| Chilworth | 1,169 | 3.3 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 32% |
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 West End’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. West End’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,318 people in 2021, against 10,865 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 West End’s residents
What is the population of West End?
The 2021 Census counted 10,865 people in West End’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 11,700 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in West End?
The median age was 46.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 67% of UK towns. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West End?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Hampshire’s towns. 9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West End?
42% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is West End good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West End’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. 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.