Photo: Alan Hunt · CC BY-SA 2.0Households without a car or van: 5.8%, a lower share than 98% of UK towns
One-person households make up 24%, against 30% across England’s towns. 4,045 residents in 1,406 households: that is Bisley at the 2021 Census. Households in detached houses account for 49%. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as White British: 81% here, fewer than in 84% of UK towns.
Bisley’s population changed by +9% since 2011, more than in 57% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bisley’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,000 people in 2011; 4,300 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2018: 130 more people. The 65 and over age group changed most (+68%) and the 16 to 29 least (−25%).
A median age of 41.6: Bisley is younger than 71% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 18%; Bisley has 17%. More residents are 30–34 than any other five-year age: 8.2% of residents. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 55% of UK towns: 9.6%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bisley, 41.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
About 120 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 4.3% of adults are full-time students in Bisley
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%.
Nothing unusual on residents who moved in within the year: 11%, close to the figure across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Bisley ranks above 89% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 33%
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.
At 2.5 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. The share of households with dependent children across England’s towns is 29%. On the census count, 3.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
A lower share of households in terraced houses than 67% of UK towns, at 16%
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
The figure for households in flats is 9.3% in Bisley and 23% across England’s towns. To put it in context, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
13% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 82% 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
Where 21% of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 10%. Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are scarce here: 96%, fewer than in 73% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 18%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (3.7%).
Residents with no religion make up 35% in Bisley, less than in 82% 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: 81% of Bisley · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Just over half of residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%). The largest groups after White British are Other White (6.3%), Indian (3.5%) and Mixed or multiple (2.5%). Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
A lower share of unpaid carers than 94% of UK towns, at 7.3%
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
Against a figure of 39% across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married in Bisley comes in at 37%. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are scarce here: 48%, fewer than in 52% of UK towns. Measured more widely, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. For 75 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
36% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Bisley counts 36% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 13% have no qualification (18%).
88th youngest of 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people
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 64.6 in Milford on Sea. Nearest to Bisley in age: Milton (41.5), Markyate (41.6), Sowerby Bridge (41.7) and Binfield (41.9).
Around Bisley, 2 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bisley | 4,045 | — | 41.6 | 17% | 33% |
| West End and Chobham | 8,877 | 1.2 mi | 41.5 | 18% | 37% |
| Brookwood | 1,428 | 1.4 mi | 40.2 | 16% | 36% |
| Pirbright | 3,920 | 1.7 mi | 24.7 | 6% | 47% |
| Lightwater | 6,539 | 2.2 mi | 49.3 | 25% | 26% |
| Woking | 75,655 | 2.8 mi | 39.2 | 15% | 32% |
| Deepcut | 2,163 | 3.1 mi | 34.4 | 8.3% | 40% |
| Windlesham | 3,706 | 3.1 mi | 48.4 | 23% | 29% |
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 Bisley’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. Bisley’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,387 people in 2021, against 4,045 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 Bisley’s residents
What is the population of Bisley?
The 2021 Census counted 4,045 people in Bisley’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,300 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bisley?
The median age was 41.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 71% of UK towns. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bisley?
81% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bisley?
35% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.3% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Bisley good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bisley’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. 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.