Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 91% of UK towns: half of Elstead is over 51.5
The share of households without a car or van is 9.3%, against 24% across England’s towns. One-person households account for 34%. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 92% of UK towns. Elstead had 2,261 residents in 1,007 households at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Elstead’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Elstead’s residents are under 51.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Below 93% of UK towns: 7.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
29% of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%). As a yardstick, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Fewer full-time students than 73% of UK towns: 4.3%
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; Elstead has 45% and 14%. More residents who moved in within the year than in 74% of UK towns: 10%. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households with dependent children make up 25% in Elstead, less than in 70% 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.
Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Elstead, 2.1%. Against that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. The average household has 2.2 people.
A village of detached houses: 46% of households 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
6.9% of households live in a flat or apartment (England’s towns: 23%). Typically, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. In Elstead, 14% of households live in a terraced house.
Elstead: 8.4% of residents were born outside the UK, above 66% 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
Of residents born abroad, 12% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. More residents whose main language is English than in 53% of UK towns: 98%. Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%).
56% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 83% 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: 91% of Elstead · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Asked about religion, 36% answered none, against 37% across England’s towns. For comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Locally, 91% of residents describe themselves as White British.
23% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 98% 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
Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 8.5%, from the figure across England’s towns. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. 46 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week.
Qualified to degree level: 43% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 43% of adults in Elstead, 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification, against 18%.
No nearby town is as old as Elstead
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elstead | 2,261 | — | 51.5 | 29% | 25% |
| Milford and Witley | 6,489 | 2.7 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 31% |
| Godalming | 10,450 | 3.8 mi | 41.5 | 17% | 32% |
| Badshot Lea | 1,883 | 4.1 mi | 41.3 | 19% | 27% |
| Farncombe | 13,247 | 4.1 mi | 41.3 | 19% | 29% |
| Farnham | 20,499 | 4.2 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 31% |
| Normandy | 1,665 | 4.7 mi | 51.2 | 30% | 25% |
| Hindhead | 6,444 | 4.7 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 25% |
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 Elstead’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 Elstead’s residents
What is the population of Elstead?
The 2021 Census counted 2,261 people in Elstead’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Elstead?
The median age was 51.5 at the 2021 Census. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Elstead?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 8.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Elstead?
36% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is Elstead good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Elstead’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.