Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of households with dependent children than 96% of UK towns: 38%
A household here has 2.5 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. At 53%, the share of married adults and civil partners is higher than in 82% of UK towns. Hersham is home to 12,622 residents in 4,959 households, by the 2021 Census. In Hersham, just over one in ten households have no car or van.
What the Census says about Hersham’s people
A town of families
38% of Hersham’s 4,959 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 96% of UK towns. 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Hersham at 10,900 in 2011 and 13,000 in 2024, up 19%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 84% 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.
A growing town: +19% since 2011, faster than 84% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Hersham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,900 people in 2011; 13,000 in 2024.
The 0 to 15 age group changed most (+35%) and the 16 to 29 least (+8%). The steepest year was mid-2011 to mid-2012, up 280 people.
Younger than 79% of UK towns: half of Hersham is under 40.3
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 16%, below 88% of UK towns. Here, 8.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Hersham, 40.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 5.1%, a higher share than 64% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 11%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A lower share of one-person households than 84% of UK towns, at 25%
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.
Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. Against that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
A higher share of households in flats than 75% of UK towns, at 16%
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
In Hersham, 27% of households live in a detached house, beside 21% across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses are rarer here than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. By way of comparison, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English: 94%, a lower share than 83% 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
Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 16% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%). The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%. For Hersham, the census puts residents born outside the UK at 19%.
Hersham sits below 88% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (76%)
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: 76% of Hersham · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Hersham comes in at 38%. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns: 73%. Next after White British come Other White (11%), Mixed or multiple (4.3%) and Indian (2.4%). Residents who describe themselves as Christian are more common here than in 55% of UK towns.
Fewer unpaid carers than 91% of UK towns: 7.6%
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
211 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Across the comparison, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Lower than in nearly three fifths of UK towns: 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
A degree-level qualification for 49% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 49% of adults in Hersham (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 12% (England’s towns: 18%).
382 UK towns of 9,000 to 17,000 people: this is the 58th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Hersham in age: Irthlingborough (40.3), Stotfold (40.3), Carmarthen (40.3) and Connah's Quay (40.4).
Hersham and its 7 nearest towns: 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hersham | 12,622 | — | 40.3 | 16% | 38% |
| Walton-on-Thames | 27,016 | 1.2 mi | 40.1 | 16% | 33% |
| Esher | 9,484 | 1.9 mi | 45.4 | 19% | 35% |
| Weybridge | 15,918 | 2 mi | 43.1 | 18% | 32% |
| Shepperton | 5,917 | 2.6 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 25% |
| Cobham | 17,505 | 2.6 mi | 44.6 | 20% | 36% |
| Upper Halliford | 2,337 | 2.7 mi | 50 | 29% | 24% |
| Byfleet | 14,187 | 3 mi | 42.6 | 18% | 33% |
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 Hersham’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. Hersham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 12,360 people in 2021, against 12,622 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 Hersham’s residents
What is the population of Hersham?
The 2021 Census counted 12,622 people in Hersham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 13,000 people in mid-2024, 19% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Hersham?
The median age was 40.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 79% of UK towns. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hersham?
76% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 19% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hersham?
38% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.2% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Hersham good for families?
38% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hersham’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.