Photo: James Emmans · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer residents with no religion than 92% of UK towns: 31%
Half of Ashford Common’s residents are under 41.3, younger than in 73% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 8,333 residents in 3,451 households. Locally, nearly a fifth of households live in a flat or apartment. In Ashford Common the average household is 2.4 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns.
Only 9.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Ashford Common
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
30–34 is the most common age band: 7.7% of residents. Few places have so few residents aged 65 and over: 18% here, fewer than in 74% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In Banstead, the oldest of Surrey’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ashford Common, 41.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 7.8% in Ashford Common, less than in 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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Ashford Common, 36% and 20%. By way of comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. In Ashford Common, 4.6% of adults are full-time students.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 3.7% in Ashford Common, more than in 89% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Surrey’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Set against 29% across England’s towns, 30% of households have dependent children in Ashford Common. As a yardstick, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. One-person households are rarer here than in 58% of UK towns.
A smaller share of households without a car or van than 70% of UK towns: 12%
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
Nearly a fifth of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, households without a car or van come to 24%. Here, 20% of households live in a terraced house.
92% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 89% of UK towns
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
Since 2017: 10% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns. In Ashford Common, 18% of residents were born outside the UK. By way of comparison, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 72% of UK towns: 53%
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: 73% of Ashford Common · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (8.3%), Indian (7.2%) and Mixed or multiple (2.9%). 73% of residents describe themselves as White British, a lower share than in 91% of UK towns. To put it in context, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
A higher share of adults who have never married than 59% of UK towns, at 34%
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
49% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 44%. For 193 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Fewer unpaid carers than in 69% of UK towns: 8.7%. As a yardstick, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 28% of adults in Ashford Common (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 17% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 40 in Littleton & Shepperton Green to 43 in Ashford East
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Ashford East is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; Littleton & Shepperton Green the youngest (median age 40). Families with children are most common in Littleton & Shepperton Green (33% of households).
91st lowest median age among 424 UK towns of 6,000 to 11,000
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 Tidworth (28.4), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Ashford Common in age: Elworth (41.3), Pheasey (41.3), Shepton Mallet (41.4) and Cullompton (41.4).
A younger town than 4 of the 7 around it: Ashford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashford Common | 8,333 | — | 41.3 | 18% | 30% |
| Ashford | 22,823 | 1.2 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 32% |
| Sunbury-on-Thames | 21,476 | 1.2 mi | 40.5 | 17% | 34% |
| Upper Halliford | 2,337 | 1.4 mi | 50 | 29% | 24% |
| Shepperton Green | 4,358 | 1.7 mi | 44.4 | 20% | 30% |
| Shepperton | 5,917 | 1.9 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 25% |
| Laleham | 2,521 | 2.3 mi | 50.3 | 27% | 28% |
| Staines-upon-Thames | 21,327 | 2.4 mi | 41.3 | 18% | 28% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Surrey’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Surrey (or England), summed the same way as Ashford 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 Ashford Common’s residents
What is the population of Ashford Common?
The 2021 Census counted 8,333 people in Ashford Common’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ashford Common?
The median age was 41.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 73% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ashford Common?
73% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 18% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ashford Common?
31% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.9% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Ashford Common good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Littleton & Shepperton Green (33% of households). Schools are on Ashford 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) · 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.