Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.031% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 95% of UK towns
Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, Dorking has 85%. Higher than in four fifths of UK towns: 34% of households are one person living alone. In 2021, the Census found 17,463 residents in the town, living in 7,674 households. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.1% in the town.
What the Census says about Dorking’s people
A town of flats
31% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 95% 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 +6% change since 2011: slower than 59% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Dorking’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 16,000 people in 2011; 16,900 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+25%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (−6%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2012 to mid-2013, 280 people.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 57% of UK towns: 21%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Dorking’s residents are over 44.9, older than in 53% of UK towns. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. More residents are 45–49 than any other five-year age: 7.7% of residents. In Banstead, the oldest of Surrey’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Dorking, 44.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 9.4% in Dorking, more than in 64% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 43% of Dorking’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 17%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%. Here, 4.7% of adults are full-time students.
Dorking households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 65% 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.
With households with dependent children at 27%, Dorking is behind 55% of UK towns on that count. Few places have as many shared households of unrelated adults: 3.1% here, more than in 78% of UK towns.
A higher share of households in terraced houses than 54% of UK towns, at 21%
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 share of households without a car or van is 16%, against 24% across England’s towns. Dorking has fewer households in detached houses than 70% of UK towns, at 21%.
More residents born abroad than 83% of UK towns: 13% in Dorking
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (5.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.6%). For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are scarce here: 95%, fewer than in 76% of UK towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 16% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
More residents with no religion than 63% of UK towns: 43%
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: 85% of Dorking · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (8.1%), Mixed or multiple (2.5%) and Indian (0.7%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 48%, fewer than in 63% of UK towns. Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Dorking: 34% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, above 57% 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
At 8.4%, the share of unpaid carers is in line with the figure across England’s towns. Elsewhere, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. The census found that 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Dorking.
Among adults, 43% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Dorking, 43%, and 13% have none, against 18%.
From a median age of 42 in Holmwoods to 47 in Dorking South
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.
Dorking South is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Holmwoods the youngest (median age 42). Families with children are most common in Holmwoods (30% of households).
Of 354 UK towns its size (12,000 to 24,000 people), the 142nd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Dorking in age: Somercotes and Swanwick (44.9), Sudbury (44.9), East Ardsley (45) and Ossett (45).
A younger town than 6 of the 7 around it: Dorking
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorking | 17,463 | — | 44.9 | 21% | 27% |
| Westcott | 2,275 | 1.7 mi | 49.5 | 25% | 26% |
| Brockham | 2,206 | 2 mi | 50.3 | 27% | 27% |
| Box Hill | 1,271 | 2.7 mi | 65.2 | 50% | 6.6% |
| Beare Green | 1,940 | 3.3 mi | 51 | 28% | 21% |
| Great Bookham and Fetcham | 21,655 | 4.4 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 27% |
| Leatherhead | 11,482 | 5.1 mi | 40.7 | 19% | 26% |
| Gomshall | 1,378 | 5.2 mi | 46 | 19% | 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 Dorking’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. Dorking’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 16,530 people in 2021, against 17,463 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 Dorking’s residents
What is the population of Dorking?
The 2021 Census counted 17,463 people in Dorking’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 16,900 people in mid-2024, 6% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Dorking?
The median age was 44.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 53% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dorking?
85% 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 Dorking?
43% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.6% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Dorking good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Holmwoods (30% of households). Schools are on Dorking’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.