Photo: Pip Rolls · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer people live alone than in 99% of UK towns: 11% of households
Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%; Effingham has 6%. At the 2021 Census Effingham was home to 240 people in 84 households. Households with dependent children: just over a third of the total. The median age locally is 49.3, higher than in just over four fifths of UK towns.
15% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a share 96% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 11% of residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. At 17%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is lower than in 81% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More students than 94% of UK towns: 8.4% of adults in Effingham
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, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Effingham has 58% and 7.9%. Residents who moved in within the year: nearly a tenth of the total.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A higher share of shared households of unrelated adults than 99% of UK towns, at 12%
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.
A household here has 2.9 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. For comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
A higher share of households in detached houses than 99% of UK towns, at 87%
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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 2.4% of households live in a terraced house in Effingham. Households in flats: 3.6% of the total. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%.
Effingham ranks above 57% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 7.1%
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.9%) and in EU countries (2.1%). More residents whose main language is English than in 54% of UK towns: 98%. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion: 43%, a higher share than 66% 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: 94% of Effingham · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents who describe themselves as White British (94%), Effingham is above 64% of UK towns. Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (4.2%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Indian (0.4%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 46%, fewer than in nearly three quarters of UK towns.
Effingham: 61% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, above 99% 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
The share of adults who have never married trails 71% of UK towns: 29%. In Effingham, 6.3% of residents give unpaid care. As a yardstick, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 62%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Effingham, 62% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 7.4% have no qualification at all (18%). A levels top the qualifications of 17%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
Older than Effingham: 3 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effingham | 240 | — | 49.3 | 17% | 35% |
| East Horsley | 5,843 | 1.3 mi | 49.9 | 26% | 32% |
| Great Bookham and Fetcham | 21,655 | 1.7 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 27% |
| West Horsley | 1,378 | 2.5 mi | 49.3 | 25% | 31% |
| Cobham | 17,505 | 3.3 mi | 44.6 | 20% | 36% |
| Leatherhead | 11,482 | 3.6 mi | 40.7 | 19% | 26% |
| Ripley | 1,714 | 3.9 mi | 49.9 | 26% | 23% |
| West Clandon | 1,233 | 4.4 mi | 48.7 | 23% | 34% |
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 Effingham’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 Effingham’s residents
What is the population of Effingham?
The 2021 Census counted 240 people in Effingham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Effingham?
The median age was 49.3 at the 2021 Census. 15% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Effingham?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 7.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Effingham?
43% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 9.2% didn’t answer.
Is Effingham good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Effingham’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.