Photo: Mark · CC BY 2.0Half of Farncombe is under 41.3, younger than 73% of UK towns
The share of residents with no religion is 43%, against 37% across England’s towns. More households in flats than in 85% of UK towns: 21%. Farncombe counted 13,247 residents and 5,413 households at the 2021 Census. In Farncombe, just over a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Above 85% of UK towns: 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Where 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, Farncombe has 19%. Measured more widely, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Farncombe, 41.3. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Farncombe sits above 94% of UK towns for full-time students (8%)
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 45% of Farncombe’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 17%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 12%. 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.
A larger share of shared households of unrelated adults than 83% of UK towns: 3.3%
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.
The figure for one-person households is 31% in Farncombe and 30% across England’s towns. Typically, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. Census figures put households with dependent children at 29% locally.
A lower share of households in terraced houses than 58% of UK towns, at 18%
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 15%, against 24% across England’s towns. Here, 28% of households live in a detached house.
Farncombe: 14% of residents born outside the UK
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
The figure for residents whose main language is English is 96% in Farncombe and 90% across England’s towns. Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (5.6%) or in the Middle East and Asia (2.6%).
85% of residents describe themselves as White British, below 78% 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: 85% of Farncombe · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (7.9%), Mixed or multiple (2.9%) and Indian (1%). Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than in just over three fifths of UK towns: 48%.
Below 59% of UK towns: 46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
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
There is little gap on unpaid carers: 8.2%, about the same as across England’s towns. The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%.
44% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Farncombe, 13%, while 44% hold one at degree level (34%). For 14%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 39 in Godalming North to 50 in Shalford & Wanborough
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.
Shalford & Wanborough is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Godalming North the youngest (median age 39). Families with children are most common in Farncombe (29% of households).
90th lowest median age among 406 UK towns of 9,000 to 18,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Farncombe in age: Queensbury (41.3), Pheasey (41.3), Bodmin (41.3) and Shepton Mallet (41.4).
A younger town than 6 of the 7 around it: Farncombe
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farncombe | 13,247 | — | 41.3 | 19% | 29% |
| Godalming | 10,450 | 1.1 mi | 41.5 | 17% | 32% |
| Shalford | 2,508 | 2.3 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Bramley and Wonersh | 4,193 | 2.6 mi | 46.7 | 23% | 29% |
| Milford and Witley | 6,489 | 3.1 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 31% |
| Chilworth | 1,917 | 3.4 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 29% |
| Wood Street Village | 1,586 | 3.6 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 34% |
| Guildford | 77,870 | 3.7 mi | 34.7 | 14% | 29% |
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 Farncombe’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 Farncombe’s residents
What is the population of Farncombe?
The 2021 Census counted 13,247 people in Farncombe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Farncombe?
The median age was 41.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 73% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Farncombe?
85% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 14% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Farncombe?
43% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Farncombe good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Farncombe (29% of households). Schools are on Farncombe’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) · 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.