Photo: Manfred Heyde · CC BY-SA 3.0Ashford sits above 93% of UK towns for households in flats (27%)
Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%; Ashford has 29%. In Ashford, 32% of households have dependent children. Lower than in 78% of UK towns: 13% of households live in a terraced house. This Surrey town is home to 22,823 residents in 8,943 households, by the 2021 Census.
A +14% change since 2011: faster than 73% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ashford’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 22,500 people in 2011; 25,600 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2024: 600 more people. The 30 to 44 group saw the biggest change (+23%), the 45 to 64 group the smallest (+5%).
Ashford is younger than 76% of UK towns: a median age of 40.9
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24; in Ashford, 10%. Here, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ashford, 40.9. 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.
Ashford sits above 72% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (9.9%)
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%.
In Ashford, 36% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 20% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Full-time students account for 4.9%. Across England’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%.
2.5 people per household, more than in 91% 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.
One-person households make up 27%, against 30% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 95% of UK towns.
A lower share of households in detached houses than 73% of UK towns, at 20%
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
14% of households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%). Measured more widely, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents born outside the UK than 93% of UK towns: 20%
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in the Middle East and Asia (7.5%), then in EU countries (7.2%). To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Ashford has fewer residents whose main language is English than 92% of UK towns, at 90%. Of residents born abroad, 14% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 69% in Ashford, less than in 93% 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: 69% of Ashford · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Muslims make up 4.4% of residents. Set beside that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Ashford sits higher than nearly two thirds of UK towns: 52%.
34% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 62% 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
488 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Typically, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Ashford has fewer unpaid carers than just over three quarters of UK towns, at 8.4%. The share of married adults and civil partners tops 56% of UK towns: 49%.
31% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 31% of adults in Ashford (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 17% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 37 in Stanwell South to 42 in Staines South East
The town’s 5 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Staines South East is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; Stanwell South the youngest (median age 37). Families with children are most common in Stanwell South (43% of households).
75th lowest median age among 272 UK towns of 16,000 to 31,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bangor is the youngest (26.4); Brixham the oldest (55.6). Nearest to Ashford in age: Oadby (40.9), Royston (40.9), Westbury (40.9) and Peterlee (41.1).
Of the 7 towns nearest Ashford, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashford | 22,823 | — | 40.9 | 18% | 32% |
| Ashford Common | 8,333 | 1.2 mi | 41.3 | 18% | 30% |
| Staines-upon-Thames | 21,327 | 1.4 mi | 41.3 | 18% | 28% |
| Stanwell | 11,728 | 1.5 mi | 36.6 | 12% | 36% |
| Laleham | 2,521 | 1.7 mi | 50.3 | 27% | 28% |
| Shepperton Green | 4,358 | 2.1 mi | 44.4 | 20% | 30% |
| Sunbury-on-Thames | 21,476 | 2.4 mi | 40.5 | 17% | 34% |
| Upper Halliford | 2,337 | 2.4 mi | 50 | 29% | 24% |
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’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. Ashford’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 24,310 people in 2021, against 22,823 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 Ashford’s residents
What is the population of Ashford?
The 2021 Census counted 22,823 people in Ashford’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 25,600 people in mid-2024, 14% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ashford?
The median age was 40.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 76% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ashford?
69% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 20% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ashford?
29% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 4.4% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Ashford good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Stanwell South (43% of households). Schools are on Ashford’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.