Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 79% of UK towns, at 85%
Half of Farnham’s residents are under 42.8, younger than in 63% of UK towns. Here, 14% of households live in a terraced house. At the 2021 Census, 20,499 people lived here, in 8,344 households. The share of households with dependent children is 31%, against 29% across England’s towns.
A +13% change since 2011: faster than 71% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Farnham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 20,300 people in 2011; 23,000 in 2024.
Mid-2022 to mid-2023 brought the biggest yearly rise, 420 people. The 16 to 29 age group changed most (+21%) and the 30 to 44 least (±0%).
In Farnham, 13% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 94% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 20% here and 18% across England’s towns. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 7.4% of residents. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Farnham, 42.8. 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.
11% of adults are full-time students, a share 96% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 13%, above 94% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 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.
2.4 people per household, more than in 77% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults are about as common here as across England’s towns: 4.7%. For Farnham, the census puts one-person households at 29%.
A higher share of households in detached houses than 70% of UK towns, at 37%
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 flats: 24% here and 23% across England’s towns. On the census count, 15% of households have no car or van. Measured more widely, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 14%, a higher share than 85% 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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (5.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (3.7%). 95% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 76% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 22% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns.
Farnham sits below 58% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (49%)
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 Farnham · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (7.1%), Mixed or multiple (2.7%) and Chinese (1.1%). The wider picture: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. On residents with no religion, Farnham sits higher than 52% of UK towns: 41%.
7.7% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 89% 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
Nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 34% in Farnham. More married adults and civil partners than in 62% of UK towns: 50%. The share of unpaid carers across England’s towns is 8.7%.
Qualified to degree level: 50% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
50% of Farnham’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 10% have none (18%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 16%.
From a median age of 40 in Farnham Town to 46 in Farnham Moor Park & Bourne
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.
Farnham Moor Park & Bourne is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Farnham Town the youngest (median age 40). Families with children are most common in Farnham Shortheath (37% of households).
Among 324 UK towns of 14,000 to 28,000 people, the 134th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 57.2 in South Hayling. Nearest to Farnham in age: South Woodham Ferrers (42.8), Melksham (42.8), Ash and Ash Vale (42.9) and Truro (42.9).
Farnham and its 7 nearest towns: 5 of them are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farnham | 20,499 | — | 42.8 | 20% | 31% |
| Wrecclesham | 7,312 | 1.4 mi | 45.3 | 22% | 33% |
| Weybourne | 11,241 | 1.8 mi | 44.8 | 22% | 29% |
| Badshot Lea | 1,883 | 2.1 mi | 41.3 | 19% | 27% |
| Aldershot | 39,827 | 3.1 mi | 37 | 14% | 32% |
| Crondall | 1,220 | 3.5 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 31% |
| Bentley | 1,406 | 3.8 mi | 47 | 25% | 34% |
| Elstead | 2,261 | 4.2 mi | 51.5 | 29% | 25% |
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 Farnham’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. Farnham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 22,018 people in 2021, against 20,499 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 Farnham’s residents
What is the population of Farnham?
The 2021 Census counted 20,499 people in Farnham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 23,000 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Farnham?
The median age was 42.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 63% of UK towns. 13% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Farnham?
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 Farnham?
41% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.9% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Farnham good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Farnham Shortheath (37% of households). Schools are on Farnham’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.