Photo: A P Monblat · CC BY-SA 3.0In Sutton, 35% of households have dependent children, more than in 94% of UK towns
15% of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Sutton is home to 208,858 residents in 81,629 households, by the 2021 Census. The census found that 32% of residents said they have no religion in the borough. Fewer households in detached houses than in 93% of UK towns: 10%.
What the Census says about Sutton’s people
More born abroad than most towns
28% 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 (11%) and in EU countries (8.1%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
43% 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 (11%), Indian (6%) and Mixed or multiple (4.9%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
A borough of families
35% of Sutton’s 81,629 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 94% of UK towns. 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A borough of flats
37% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 98% of UK towns. 23% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
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.
Sutton grew +12% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 68% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Sutton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 193,200 people in 2011; 216,900 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+20%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−5%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2011 to mid-2012, 2,940 people.
Sutton is younger than 83% of UK towns: a median age of 39.4
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 10%, Sutton is ahead of 63% of UK towns on that count. The largest age band is 40–44: 8.2% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Sutton, 39.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Sutton ranks above 88% of UK towns on full-time students: 6.4%
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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 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.
Sutton households average 2.5 people, larger than in 92% 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 figure for one-person households is 27% in Sutton and 30% across England’s towns. The census found that 3.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in the borough.
A higher share of households in flats than 98% of UK towns, at 37%
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
Here nearly a quarter of households have no car or van, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in two thirds of UK towns.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 97% of UK towns, at 28%
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
Of residents born abroad, 13% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The share of residents whose main language is English stands at 86%.
57% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 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: 57% of Sutton · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
7% of residents said their religion is Muslim. Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 74% of UK towns: 46%. To put it in context, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
In Sutton, 37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 75% 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
4,420 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. Sutton has fewer unpaid carers than 83% of UK towns, at 8.1%. Married adults and civil partners: 48% here and 44% across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 40%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Sutton’s adults: 40% with a degree-level qualification and 15% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 16%.
From a median age of 35 in Banstead to 46 in Carshalton Beeches & Banstead Road
The borough’s 25 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Carshalton Beeches & Banstead Road is the oldest area, with 22% aged 65 or over; Banstead the youngest (median age 35). Families with children are most common in Middleton Circle (40% of households).
Ranked by age, 8th oldest of 44 UK towns this size
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 Blackpool (44), the oldest. Nearest to Sutton in age: Kingswood and Fishponds (39.2), Havering (39.4), Bexley (39.5) and Plymouth (39.6).
Nearby, 5 of 7 towns have older populations than Sutton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton | 208,858 | — | 39.4 | 15% | 35% |
| Worcester Park and Stoneleigh | 15,851 | 2.9 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 32% |
| Merton | 214,931 | 3 mi | 37.5 | 13% | 34% |
| Banstead | 8,929 | 3.1 mi | 49.1 | 28% | 28% |
| Ewell | 27,509 | 3.5 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 34% |
| Chipstead and Woodmansterne | 4,523 | 3.7 mi | 44.9 | 18% | 34% |
| Croydon | 389,242 | 4.1 mi | 37.6 | 14% | 34% |
| Epsom | 35,857 | 4.3 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 Sutton’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. Sutton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 211,977 people in 2021, against 208,858 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 Sutton’s residents
What is the population of Sutton?
The 2021 Census counted 208,858 people in Sutton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 216,900 people in mid-2024, 12% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Sutton?
The median age was 39.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 83% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sutton?
57% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 28% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sutton?
32% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 7% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Sutton good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Middleton Circle (40% of households). Schools are on Sutton’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.