Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.039% of households live in a flat, more than in 98% of UK towns
In Kingston upon Thames, 5.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, beside 4.3% across England’s towns. Lower than in 89% of UK towns: 13% of households live in a detached house. The borough counted 166,333 residents and 64,986 households at the 2021 Census. The share of households with dependent children stands at 33%.
What the Census says about Kingston upon Thames’s people
More born abroad than most towns
34% 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 (14%) and in EU countries (10%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
46% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 97% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (15%), Mixed or multiple (5.4%) and Indian (4.6%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A borough of flats
39% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 98% of UK towns. 26% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Kingston upon Thames’s residents are under 38.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% 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.
A growing town: +8% since 2011, faster than 51% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Kingston upon Thames’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 160,400 people in 2011; 172,700 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+26%) and the 16 to 29 least (−7%). The steepest year was mid-2011 to mid-2012, up 2,130 people.
Kingston upon Thames is younger than 87% of UK towns: a median age of 38.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 14%, below 91% of UK towns. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 12%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Kingston upon Thames, 38.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Above 96% of UK towns: 10% of adults are full-time students
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%.
Just over one in ten 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.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 90% of UK towns: 2.5 people each on average
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.
One-person households: 27%, below 73% of UK towns.
Households without a car or van: 26%, a higher share than 89% 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
Terraced houses are home to 17% of households, against 24% across England’s towns. Every 4th household or so has no car or van.
Kingston upon Thames: 34% of residents born outside the UK
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
83% of residents have English as their main language (England’s towns: 90%). Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%.
A lower White British share than 97% of UK towns: 54% of residents
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: 54% of Kingston upon Thames · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 37% across England’s towns, 34% of residents said they have no religion in Kingston upon Thames. On top of that, fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 87% of UK towns: 43%. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%. Muslims make up 8% of residents.
Below 94% of UK towns: 7.3% of residents give unpaid care
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
47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. At 39%, the share of adults who have never married is higher than in 88% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
51% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 51% of adults in Kingston upon Thames (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 12% (England’s towns: 18%). A levels top the qualifications of 15%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
From a median age of 33 in Kingston East & Norbiton West to 45 in Kingston Vale & Coombe Hill
The borough’s 20 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Kingston Vale & Coombe Hill is the oldest area, with 22% aged 65 or over; Kingston East & Norbiton West the youngest (median age 33). Families with children are most common in Tudor Drive (42% of households).
16th oldest of 42 UK towns of 116,000 to 225,000 people
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 Cambridge (31.9), the youngest, and Poole (44.6), the oldest. Nearest to Kingston upon Thames in age: Norwich (37.9), Swindon (38.1), Swansea (38.9) and Telford (39).
Median age: 6 of the 7 towns around Kingston upon Thames are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston upon Thames | 166,333 | — | 38.6 | 14% | 33% |
| West Molesey | 47,144 | 2.5 mi | 43 | 18% | 36% |
| Worcester Park and Stoneleigh | 15,851 | 2.5 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 32% |
| Ewell | 27,509 | 3 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 34% |
| Esher | 9,484 | 3.7 mi | 45.4 | 19% | 35% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 192,888 | 4 mi | 41.7 | 16% | 33% |
| Merton | 214,931 | 4.1 mi | 37.5 | 13% | 34% |
| Epsom | 35,857 | 4.2 mi | 39.6 | 15% | 35% |
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 Kingston upon Thames’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. Kingston upon Thames’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 168,051 people in 2021, against 166,333 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 Kingston upon Thames’s residents
What is the population of Kingston upon Thames?
The 2021 Census counted 166,333 people in Kingston upon Thames’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 172,700 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Kingston upon Thames?
The median age was 38.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 87% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Kingston upon Thames?
54% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 34% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Kingston upon Thames?
34% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 8% were Muslim and 7.1% didn’t answer.
Is Kingston upon Thames good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Tudor Drive (42% of households). Schools are on Kingston upon Thames’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.