Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0Guildford is younger than 96% of UK towns: a median age of 34.7
By its share of adults who have never married (47%), Guildford is above 97% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Guildford was home to 77,870 people in 29,352 households. In Guildford, 9.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as White British: 69% here, fewer than in 93% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Guildford’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 13,633 full-time students aged 16 and over, 21% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 22% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than most towns
25% 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 (9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (8.6%). Where people were born ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Guildford’s residents are under 34.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 22% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
19% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns, and 3.4% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
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.
From 2011 to 2024, Guildford outgrew 66% of UK towns: +11%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Guildford’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 75,100 people in 2011; 83,600 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2022 to mid-2023, the population rose by 1,680, the most of any year. The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+19%), the 30 to 44 group the smallest (+3%).
In Guildford, 22% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (14%), Guildford is below 93% of UK towns. To put it in context, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Guildford, 34.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A student town: 21% 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%.
Leave the students aside and Guildford’s other adults differ from England’s: 50% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. Higher than in 98% of UK towns: 19% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 84% of UK towns: 2.4 people each on average
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 share of one-person households is 28%, against 30% across England’s towns. Few places have as many households with dependent children: 29% here, more than in 63% of UK towns.
Above 94% of UK towns: 28% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
Here 25% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%. Across Guildford, nearly a fifth of households have no car or van. 14% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 77% of UK towns.
25% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 96% 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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 34%. Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 88% here, fewer than in 95% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 18%. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (9%), then in the Middle East and Asia (8.6%).
In Guildford, 44% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 81% 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: 69% of Guildford · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (12%), Mixed or multiple (3.9%) and Indian (2.9%). Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Guildford has more residents with no religion than just over half of UK towns, at 41%.
Guildford ranks below 90% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 41%
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 1,260 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Fewer unpaid carers than in 97% of UK towns: 6.8%. The usual figure: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
46% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 46% of adults in Guildford, 34% across England’s towns; 10% have no qualification, against 18%. The highest qualification of 22% is A levels, often students still at university.
From a median age of 24 in Park Barn & Royal Surrey to 45 in Burpham, Boxgrove & Merrow West
The town’s 10 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Burpham, Boxgrove & Merrow West is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; Park Barn & Royal Surrey the youngest (median age 24). Students cluster in Park Barn & Royal Surrey, where 51% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Burpham, Boxgrove & Merrow West (35% of households).
7th lowest median age among 87 UK towns of 55,000 to 105,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Canterbury is the youngest (27.5); Weymouth the oldest (50.2). Nearest to Guildford in age: Smethwick (33.7), Dewsbury (34.4), Bath (35.2) and Walsall (35.3).
Guildford is younger than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guildford | 77,870 | — | 34.7 | 14% | 29% |
| Jacobs Well | 1,122 | 1.4 mi | 51.9 | 31% | 24% |
| Fairlands | 1,119 | 2.2 mi | 53.6 | 33% | 22% |
| Wood Street Village | 1,586 | 2.4 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 34% |
| Shalford | 2,508 | 2.4 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Chilworth | 1,917 | 2.8 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 29% |
| West Clandon | 1,233 | 3.3 mi | 48.7 | 23% | 34% |
| Send | 4,094 | 3.5 mi | 48.1 | 25% | 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 Guildford’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. Guildford’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 79,426 people in 2021, against 77,870 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 Guildford’s residents
What is the population of Guildford?
The 2021 Census counted 77,870 people in Guildford’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 83,600 people in mid-2024, 11% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Guildford?
The median age was 34.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 22% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
Is Guildford a student town?
Yes: 21% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (13,633 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In Park Barn & Royal Surrey, 51% of adults were students.
How diverse is Guildford?
69% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 25% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Guildford?
41% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.1% were Muslim and 7.8% didn’t answer.
Is Guildford good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Burpham, Boxgrove & Merrow West (35% of households). Schools are on Guildford’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.