Photo: Ron Strutt · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 51.9: Jacobs Well is older than 92% of UK towns
With households in flats at 0.4%, Jacobs Well is behind 99% of UK towns on that count. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 1.8%. More married adults and civil partners than in 95% of UK towns: 58%. Census day 2021: 1,122 residents and 488 households here.
What the Census says about Jacobs Well’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Jacobs Well’s residents are under 51.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 7.7% in Jacobs Well, less than in 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. The wider picture: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The census found that 31% of residents are 65 or over in Jacobs Well.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Jacobs Well, 5.1% of adults are full-time students, more than in 62% 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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Jacobs Well comes in at 9.6%. On average, 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.
Jacobs Well sits below 79% of UK towns for households with dependent children (24%)
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.
In Jacobs Well, 29% of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. 3.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Households without a car or van: 8.7%, a lower share than 88% 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
Households in detached houses: 40%, above 76% of UK towns. About one household in 11 lives without a car or van.
13% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 82% of UK towns don’t reach
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (4.3%) and in Africa (3.6%). To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Fewer residents whose main language is English than in 69% of UK towns: 96%. 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
31% said they have no religion, fewer than in 91% 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: 86% of Jacobs Well · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 86% here and 73% across England’s towns. Still, at 56%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is higher than in 85% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (6.1%), Mixed or multiple (2%) and Indian (1.7%).
Below 94% of UK towns: 25% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
35 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 10%, more than in 69% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 39% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Jacobs Well counts 39% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 17% have no qualification (18%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Jacobs Well, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacobs Well | 1,122 | — | 51.9 | 31% | 24% |
| Guildford | 77,870 | 1.4 mi | 34.7 | 14% | 29% |
| Fairlands | 1,119 | 2.3 mi | 53.6 | 33% | 22% |
| Send | 4,094 | 2.3 mi | 48.1 | 25% | 29% |
| West Clandon | 1,233 | 2.9 mi | 48.7 | 23% | 34% |
| Wood Street Village | 1,586 | 2.9 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 34% |
| Woking | 75,655 | 3.3 mi | 39.2 | 15% | 32% |
| Ripley | 1,714 | 3.7 mi | 49.9 | 26% | 23% |
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 Jacobs Well’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 Jacobs Well’s residents
What is the population of Jacobs Well?
The 2021 Census counted 1,122 people in Jacobs Well’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Jacobs Well?
The median age was 51.9 at the 2021 Census. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Jacobs Well?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Jacobs Well?
31% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.4% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is Jacobs Well good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Jacobs Well’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.