Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0

52.8Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Older than 94% of UK towns: half of Forest Green is over 52.8

Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 61% here and 46% across England’s towns. In 2021, the Census found 354 residents in Forest Green, living in 152 households. Married adults and civil partners account for 56%. Households in detached houses are more common here than in 97% of UK towns.

26%aged 65 or over 6.8%born abroad 152households

Ages

Fewer young people than 99% of UK towns: 7.1% are 15 to 24

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

Forest GreenEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Forest Green comes in at 26%. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1513%

15 to 247.1%

25 to 4416%

45 to 6438%

65 and over26%

Forest GreenSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

49% women, 51% men

Forest Green

England

WomenMen

About 106 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

In Forest Green, 3.3% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 97% of UK towns

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

Full-time students3.3%

Higher managerial and professional21%

Lower managerial and professional27%

Intermediate11%

Small employers and self-employed23%

Supervisory and technical2%

Semi-routine4.2%

Routine6.2%

Never worked or long-term unemployed2.3%

Forest GreenSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Forest Green

6.3%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 6.3%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

1.2× England’s share

6.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

In Forest Green, 21% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 92% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 13%Living alone, under 66 12%Families with dependent children 21%Couples and families, no young children 49%Shared houses and other 5.9%

Against Surrey’s towns and England’s towns

Forest Green

Surrey’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person25%

2 people45%

3 people12%

4 people13%

5 or more6%

England’s towns.

One-person households make up 24%, against 30% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households with dependent children across England’s towns: 29%. Households average 2.3 people. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 97% of UK towns.

Homes & cars

Households without a car or van make up 1.3% in Forest Green, less than in 99% of UK towns

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Forest Green

Surrey’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van1.3%

One26%

Two41%

Three or more32%

Forest GreenSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Across England’s towns, 24% of households live in a terraced house; in Forest Green, 2.6%. Households in flats: 5.3% of the total.

Where people were born

Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Forest Green, more than in 82% 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%

Forest Green

6.8%

Surrey’s towns

18%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.9%

Another main language, little or no English0.3%

Forest GreenSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.5%) or in Africa (2.3%). The comparison figure for residents whose main language is English is 90% across England’s towns. Forest Green has more residents born outside the UK than 54% of UK towns, at 6.8%.

Ethnicity & religion

Forest Green sits below 91% of UK towns for residents with no religion (31%)

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

Forest GreenSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White4.2%

Asian0%

Mixed0.3%

Black0.3%

Other0%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 95% of Forest Green · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

Forest GreenSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion31%

Christian61%

Muslim0.6%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0%

Other religion0.3%

Didn’t answer6.5%

0%35%70%

Next after White British come Other White (4.2%), African (0.3%) and Mixed or multiple (0.3%). The benchmark for residents with no religion across England’s towns: 37%. Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in nearly four fifths of UK towns.

Relationships & caring

Adults who have never married make up 28% in Forest Green, less than in 78% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership28%

Married or civil partnership56%

Separated1.6%

Divorced9.2%

Widowed5.2%

Forest GreenSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

32residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 9.1%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week6%

20 to 49 hours0.9%

50 hours or more2.3%

8 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Adults who have never married: 39% across England’s towns, for comparison. Lower than in 56% of UK towns: 9.1% of residents give unpaid care.

Qualifications

Degree-level qualifications: 43% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications8.5%

Apprenticeship7.9%

A levels or similar17%

Degree level43%

Forest GreenSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Forest Green, 43%, and 8.5% have none, against 18%.

Neighbours

1 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Forest Green

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

EwhurstBeare GreenCranleighGomshallWestcottRudgwickDorkingForest Green

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Forest Green	354	—	52.8	26%	21%
Ewhurst	1,517	2 mi	53.2	32%	24%
Beare Green	1,940	3.6 mi	51	28%	21%
Cranleigh	10,430	4 mi	45.6	26%	26%
Gomshall	1,378	4.9 mi	46	19%	32%
Westcott	2,275	5.1 mi	49.5	25%	26%
Rudgwick	2,145	5.1 mi	49.1	25%	28%
Dorking	17,463	5.6 mi	44.9	21%	27%

More about Forest Green’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Forest Green’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 Forest Green’s residents

What is the population of Forest Green?

The 2021 Census counted 354 people in Forest Green’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Forest Green?

The median age was 52.8 at the 2021 Census. 7.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Forest Green?

95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 6.8% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Forest Green?

31% said they had no religion and 61% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.

Is Forest Green good for families?

21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Forest Green’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.