Photo: Stephen Richards · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 37.6: Croydon is younger than 90% of UK towns
Asked about religion, 26% answered none, against 37% across England’s towns. In 2021, the Census found 389,242 residents in Croydon, living in 152,436 households. Census figures put adults who have never married at 43% in the borough. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 97% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Croydon’s people
More born abroad than most towns
35% of residents were born outside the UK, against 41% across London and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (10%) and in EU countries (9.4%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
63% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 99% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (11%), African (10%) and Caribbean (9.3%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A borough of flats
40% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 98% of UK towns. 34% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Croydon’s residents are under 37.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 14% 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.
Growth of +12% since 2011 puts Croydon ahead of 68% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Croydon’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 364,800 people in 2011; 409,300 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2022 to mid-2023: 8,670 people. Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+27%) and the 16 to 29 least (+3%).
In Croydon, 14% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 8.1% of residents. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. On residents aged 15 to 24, Croydon sits higher than 87% of UK towns: 11%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Croydon, 37.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A higher share of full-time students than 93% of UK towns, at 7.9%
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%.
Where just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, Croydon has 9.5%. Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Croydon has 36% and 19%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Families with children: 34% of households, more than in 91% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against London and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The average household has 2.5 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Across Croydon, 28% of households are one person living alone.
Croydon: 40% of households live in a flat or apartment, above 98% 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
With households in terraced houses at 23%, Croydon is ahead of 63% of UK towns on that count. 34% of households have no car or van, a higher share than in 98% of UK towns. Across Croydon, just over one in ten households live in a detached house.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 98% of UK towns, at 35%
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 50%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 14% (England’s towns: 21%). Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. Census figures put residents whose main language is English at 84% in Croydon.
37% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 99% 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: 37% of Croydon · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (11%), African (10%) and Caribbean (9.3%). Lower than in 56% of UK towns: 49% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Across the comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Croydon sits below 86% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (42%)
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
For 7,785 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. 7.9% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 86% of UK towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 41% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 41% of its adults qualified to degree level, Croydon compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 16% hold no qualification (18%). For 15%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 30 in New Addington North to 50 in Shirley West
The borough’s 45 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Shirley West is the oldest area, with 27% aged 65 or over; New Addington North the youngest (median age 30). Families with children are most common in New Addington North (49% of households).
29 UK towns of 272,000 to 525,000 people: this is the 4th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Manchester (30.4), the youngest, and Bromley (41.2), the oldest. Nearest to Croydon in age: Derby (37.4), Enfield (37.5), Barnet (37.8) and Brighton and Hove (38.2).
Nearby, 5 of 7 towns have older populations than Croydon
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croydon | 389,242 | — | 37.6 | 14% | 34% |
| Sutton | 208,858 | 4.1 mi | 39.4 | 15% | 35% |
| Warlingham | 8,918 | 4.5 mi | 46.2 | 24% | 30% |
| Whyteleafe | 3,174 | 4.6 mi | 35.3 | 10% | 31% |
| Merton | 214,931 | 5.2 mi | 37.5 | 13% | 34% |
| Chipstead and Woodmansterne | 4,523 | 5.3 mi | 44.9 | 18% | 34% |
| Bromley | 325,469 | 5.3 mi | 41.2 | 18% | 32% |
| Caterham | 22,757 | 5.8 mi | 40.8 | 18% | 34% |
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.
- “London” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in London (or England), summed the same way as Croydon’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. Croydon’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 390,702 people in 2021, against 389,242 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 Croydon’s residents
What is the population of Croydon?
The 2021 Census counted 389,242 people in Croydon’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 409,300 people in mid-2024, 12% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Croydon?
The median age was 37.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 90% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Croydon?
37% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 35% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Croydon?
26% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 10% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is Croydon good for families?
34% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in New Addington North (49% of households). Schools are on Croydon’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.