Photo: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0Above 92% of UK towns: 54% of households live in a detached house
Where just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, Sonning Common has 8.3%. At the 2021 Census, 5,264 people lived locally, in 2,140 households. Across Sonning Common, 9.3% of households have no car or van. One-person households are rarer here than in 89% of UK towns.
Half of Sonning Common is over 48.9, older than 79% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
27% of Sonning Common is 65 or over, against 18% across Oxfordshire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest age band is 55–59: 8% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Sonning Common, 48.9. 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. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Full-time students: 4.4%, a lower share than 71% 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%.
In Sonning Common, 47% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 13% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Here, 8.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.4 people per household, more than in 81% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Oxfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
With shared households of unrelated adults at 2.9%, Sonning Common is ahead of 75% of UK towns on that count. The census found that 29% of households have dependent children locally.
Households in terraced houses make up 10% in Sonning Common, less than in 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
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment; in Sonning Common, 6.5%. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
10% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 75% 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
14% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3.9%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.2%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
53% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 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 Sonning Common · Oxfordshire’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (5.3%), Mixed or multiple (2.7%) and Indian (0.8%). Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 89% of residents describe themselves as White British, a lower share than in 67% of UK towns. The figure for residents with no religion is 38% in Sonning Common and 37% across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners make up 56% in Sonning Common, more than in 92% 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
26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. The share of unpaid carers stands at 8.1%. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 44%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Sonning Common, 44%, and 11% have none, against 18%.
516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people: this is the 149th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Sonning Common in age: Shevington (48.9), Cuffley (48.9), Hextable (48.9) and Rowlands Gill (49).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Sonning Common
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonning Common | 5,264 | — | 48.9 | 27% | 29% |
| Caversham | 33,038 | 3 mi | 41.8 | 18% | 32% |
| Henley-on-Thames | 11,786 | 3.3 mi | 47 | 24% | 25% |
| Woodcote | 2,198 | 4.1 mi | 48.6 | 24% | 29% |
| Lower Shiplake | 1,086 | 4.1 mi | 51.4 | 29% | 31% |
| Sonning | 1,615 | 4.8 mi | 49.9 | 26% | 28% |
| Reading | 203,789 | 4.9 mi | 35.7 | 13% | 31% |
| Pangbourne | 3,279 | 5.1 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Oxfordshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Oxfordshire (or England), summed the same way as Sonning Common’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 Sonning Common’s residents
What is the population of Sonning Common?
The 2021 Census counted 5,264 people in Sonning Common’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sonning Common?
The median age was 48.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 79% of UK towns. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sonning Common?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Oxfordshire’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sonning Common?
38% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 7.2% didn’t answer.
Is Sonning Common good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sonning Common’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.