Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.019% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 96% of UK towns
The median age in Charlwood is 50.8, higher than in 89% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Charlwood was home to 903 people in 398 households. The census found that 9.1% of households have no car or van in the village. Across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 21%; Charlwood has 36%.
8.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 81% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 12% of residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over account for 23%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Charlwood ranks below 99% of UK towns on full-time students: 2.5%
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, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Charlwood has 37% and 19%. For Charlwood, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 8.5%. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Charlwood sits above 82% of UK towns for one-person households (34%)
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.
Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 5.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. A household here holds 2.3 people on average.
Few flats: only 6.6% of households in Charlwood live in one
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
Households in terraced houses: 16% here and 24% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 8% in Charlwood, more than in 64% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, against 97% in Charlwood. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (2%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 90%, a lower share than 65% 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: 90% of Charlwood · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Charlwood comes in at 39%. Across the comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as Christian at 51% in the village.
Charlwood sits below 55% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (47%)
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
The figure for unpaid carers is 9.8% in Charlwood and 8.7% across England’s towns. 20 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% across England’s towns.
28% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
17% of Charlwood’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 28% have one at degree level (34%).
Charlwood and its 7 nearest towns: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlwood | 903 | — | 50.8 | 23% | 19% |
| Horley | 27,067 | 2.9 mi | 39.2 | 16% | 34% |
| Crawley | 120,567 | 3.4 mi | 36.9 | 13% | 35% |
| Salfords | 1,873 | 4.1 mi | 44.6 | 22% | 27% |
| Beare Green | 1,940 | 4.4 mi | 51 | 28% | 21% |
| Smallfield | 2,613 | 4.6 mi | 50 | 25% | 23% |
| Copthorne | 4,917 | 4.8 mi | 47.6 | 23% | 28% |
| Pease Pottage | 1,688 | 5 mi | 36.4 | 8.8% | 32% |
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 Charlwood’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 Charlwood’s residents
What is the population of Charlwood?
The 2021 Census counted 903 people in Charlwood’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Charlwood?
The median age was 50.8 at the 2021 Census. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Charlwood?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Charlwood?
39% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Charlwood good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Charlwood’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.