Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer young people than 92% of UK towns: 8% are 15 to 24
The share of households with dependent children is 32%, against 29% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Godalming was home to 10,450 people in 4,389 households. Locally, 52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. On one-person households, Godalming sits lower than 71% of UK towns: 27%.
What the Census says about Godalming’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Godalming at 10,500 in 2011 and 12,500 in 2024, up 19%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 83% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
+19% since 2011, a pace 83% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Godalming’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,500 people in 2011; 12,500 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+36%) and the 16 to 29 least (+6%). The steepest year was mid-2022 to mid-2023, up 370 people.
A median age of 41.5: Godalming is younger than 72% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, against 17% in Godalming. In Banstead, the oldest of Surrey’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Godalming, 41.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 12% in Godalming, more than in 89% 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
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
4.9% of adults are full-time students; across England’s towns the figure is 7.9%. To put it in context, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Godalming households average 2.3 people, larger than in 64% 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.
2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
In Godalming, 13% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 62% of UK towns
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
Godalming sits close to the norm on households in flats: 23%, about the same as across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 24% of households have no car or van. On the census count, nearly a fifth of households live in a terraced house. More households in detached houses than in 53% of UK towns: 30%.
Godalming ranks above 85% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 15%
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
Arrivals from 2017 on account for 16% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Here, 96% of residents have English as their main language.
84% of residents describe themselves as White British, below 79% 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: 84% of Godalming · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Muslims make up 1.1% of residents. On residents with no religion, Godalming sits higher than 52% of UK towns: 41%. Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British. By its share of residents who describe themselves as Christian (50%), Godalming is above just over half of UK towns.
A smaller share of unpaid carers than 92% of UK towns: 7.4%
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
For 165 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Elsewhere, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Nearly a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a higher share than in 51% of UK towns.
54% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
54% of Godalming’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 10% have none (18%).
455 UK towns of 7,000 to 14,000 people: this is the 114th youngest
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 Stoke Gifford (27.8), the youngest, and Seaton (61), the oldest. Nearest to Godalming in age: Royston (41.5), West End and Chobham (41.5), Rhosllannerchrugog (41.5) and Kiveton Park (41.6).
Nearby, 6 of 7 towns have older populations than Godalming
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godalming | 10,450 | — | 41.5 | 17% | 32% |
| Farncombe | 13,247 | 1.1 mi | 41.3 | 19% | 29% |
| Milford and Witley | 6,489 | 2.2 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 31% |
| Bramley and Wonersh | 4,193 | 2.9 mi | 46.7 | 23% | 29% |
| Shalford | 2,508 | 3.1 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Shamley Green | 1,200 | 3.8 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 31% |
| Elstead | 2,261 | 3.8 mi | 51.5 | 29% | 25% |
| Chilworth | 1,917 | 4 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 29% |
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 Godalming’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. Godalming’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,479 people in 2021, against 10,450 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 Godalming’s residents
What is the population of Godalming?
The 2021 Census counted 10,450 people in Godalming’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,500 people in mid-2024, 19% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Godalming?
The median age was 41.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 72% of UK towns. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Godalming?
84% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 15% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Godalming?
41% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Godalming good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Godalming’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. 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.