Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households with dependent children than 93% of UK towns, at 35%
With a median age of 39.6, Epsom is younger than 82% of UK towns. This Surrey town had 35,857 residents in 14,088 households at the 2021 Census. Residents who describe themselves as White British: just over two thirds of the total. The average household has 2.5 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns.
What the Census says about Epsom’s people
More born abroad than most towns
23% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across Surrey’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (7.1%). Where people were born ↓
A town of families
35% of Epsom’s 14,088 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 93% of UK towns. 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A town of flats
34% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 97% of UK towns. 18% 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.
+17% since 2011, a pace 79% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Epsom’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 31,900 people in 2011; 37,300 in 2024.
Between mid-2013 and mid-2014 the population rose by 990, its biggest one-year gain. Split by age, the 45 to 64 changed most (+29%) and the 30 to 44 least (+6%).
Epsom ranks below 89% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 15%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
40–44 is the most common age band: 8.2% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Across Epsom, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24. To put it in context, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Epsom, 39.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A student town: 8.2% of adults study full-time
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: 11%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. For comparison, 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.
Below 71% of UK towns: 27% of households are one person living alone
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.
4.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, about the same as across England’s towns. One-person households make up 30% across England’s towns.
A larger share of households in flats than 97% of UK towns: 34%
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 make up 16%, against 24% across England’s towns. More households without a car or van than in 65% of UK towns: 18%. Across England’s towns, households in flats come to 23%.
More residents born outside the UK than 95% of UK towns: 23%
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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 19%. On residents whose main language is English, Epsom sits lower than 92% of UK towns: 90%. Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Only 38% of residents said they have no religion in Epsom
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: 68% of Epsom · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (12%), Mixed or multiple (4.9%) and Indian (3.1%). As a reference point, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in two thirds of UK towns.
Adults who have never married make up 37% in Epsom, more than in 75% 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 figure for unpaid carers is 7.6% in Epsom and 8.7% across England’s towns. Higher than in 53% of UK towns: 49% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. For comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 663 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 48%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 48% of adults in Epsom (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 12% (England’s towns: 18%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 15%.
From a median age of 38 in Horton & Manor Park to 43 in Epsom Downs & Common
The town’s 5 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Epsom Downs & Common is the oldest area, with 18% aged 65 or over; Horton & Manor Park the youngest (median age 38). Families with children are most common in Horton & Manor Park (44% of households).
Of 192 UK towns its size (25,000 to 48,000 people), the 50th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.3 in Hatfield to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Epsom in age: Leighton Buzzard (39.4), Boston (39.6), Brierley Hill (39.8) and Yate (39.9).
No nearby town is as young as Epsom
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epsom | 35,857 | — | 39.6 | 15% | 35% |
| Ewell | 27,509 | 1.4 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 34% |
| Langley Vale | 1,515 | 2.1 mi | 46.2 | 18% | 32% |
| Ashtead | 14,830 | 2.3 mi | 47 | 24% | 32% |
| Worcester Park and Stoneleigh | 15,851 | 2.4 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 32% |
| Tadworth and Epsom Downs | 27,095 | 2.6 mi | 44.2 | 21% | 32% |
| Banstead | 8,929 | 3.1 mi | 49.1 | 28% | 28% |
| Leatherhead | 11,482 | 3.5 mi | 40.7 | 19% | 26% |
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 Epsom’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. Epsom’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 35,919 people in 2021, against 35,857 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 Epsom’s residents
What is the population of Epsom?
The 2021 Census counted 35,857 people in Epsom’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 37,300 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Epsom?
The median age was 39.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 82% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Epsom?
68% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 23% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Epsom?
38% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 4.3% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Epsom good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Horton & Manor Park (44% of households). Schools are on Epsom’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.