Photo: Peter Whatley · CC BY-SA 2.032% of households live in a flat or apartment, a share 96% of UK towns don’t reach
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%; Caterham has 78%. At the 2021 Census Caterham was home to 22,757 people in 9,336 households. Households with dependent children account for 34%. Fewer households in terraced houses than in 79% of UK towns: 13%.
What the Census says about Caterham’s people
A town of flats
32% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 96% of UK towns. 16% 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.
A +9% change since 2011: faster than 57% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Caterham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 21,200 people in 2011; 23,100 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+25%) and the 16 to 29 least (+3%). The steepest year was mid-2022 to mid-2023, up 330 people.
Younger than 76% of UK towns: half of Caterham is under 40.8
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (10%), Caterham is above nearly two thirds of UK towns. No age band is larger than 50–54: 7.6% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Caterham, 40.8. 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.
5.5% of adults are full-time students, more than in 74% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 8.4% here and 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.
Larger households than 77% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average
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.
Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Caterham, 2.7%. 29% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 56% of UK towns.
Only 25% of households live in a detached house in Caterham
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
More households without a car or van than in 52% of UK towns: 16%. Households in detached houses make up 21% across England’s towns.
13% born outside the UK, more than in 83% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (4.3%) or in the Middle East and Asia (3.6%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 96% of residents have English as their main language, a lower share than in 74% of UK towns. Since 2017: 12% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
39% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 63% 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: 78% of Caterham · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (6.2%), Mixed or multiple (5.4%) and Indian (2.6%). Across England’s towns, residents with no religion come to 37%. At 50%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is higher than in 51% of UK towns.
Caterham sits above 70% of UK towns for adults who have never married (36%)
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
Set against 44% across England’s towns, 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Caterham. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. Locally, 8.4% of residents give unpaid care.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 36%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Caterham’s adults: 36% with a degree-level qualification and 13% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
From a median age of 40 in Caterham Valley to 45 in Caterham West
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.
Caterham West is the oldest area, with 22% aged 65 or over; Caterham Valley the youngest (median age 40). Families with children are most common in Caterham North (37% of households).
Ranked by age, 71st youngest of 272 UK towns this size
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 Caterham in age: Rawmarsh (40.7), Spalding (40.7), Longbenton (40.9) and Oadby (40.9).
Caterham and its 7 nearest towns: 3 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caterham | 22,757 | — | 40.8 | 18% | 34% |
| Chaldon | 1,441 | 0.9 mi | 51.6 | 27% | 29% |
| Whyteleafe | 3,174 | 1.3 mi | 35.3 | 10% | 31% |
| Warlingham | 8,918 | 2.1 mi | 46.2 | 24% | 30% |
| Netherne on-the-Hill | 1,475 | 2.3 mi | 37.8 | 8.3% | 44% |
| Woldingham | 2,223 | 2.3 mi | 36.1 | 17% | 34% |
| Godstone | 2,648 | 2.8 mi | 43.2 | 20% | 31% |
| Hooley | 1,010 | 2.9 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 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.
- “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 Caterham’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. Caterham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 22,396 people in 2021, against 22,757 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 Caterham’s residents
What is the population of Caterham?
The 2021 Census counted 22,757 people in Caterham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 23,100 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Caterham?
The median age was 40.8 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 Caterham?
78% 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 Caterham?
39% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.9% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Caterham good for families?
34% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Caterham North (37% of households). Schools are on Caterham’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.