Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0In Leatherhead, 44% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 99% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Leatherhead, 2.2. The town counted 11,482 residents and 5,236 households at the 2021 Census. One-person households account for 36%. On residents who describe themselves as White British, Leatherhead sits lower than 87% of UK towns: 78%.
What the Census says about Leatherhead’s people
A town of flats
44% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 99% of UK towns. 19% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
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 +11% change since 2011: faster than 64% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Leatherhead’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 11,400 people in 2011; 12,700 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2022 to mid-2023, 280 people. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+20%) and 16 to 29 least (−7%).
Half of Leatherhead is under 40.7, younger than 77% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 30–34: 7.9% of residents. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in 73% of UK towns: 19%. 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Leatherhead, 40.7. 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.
11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 84% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Leatherhead has 42% and 18%. In Leatherhead, 4.7% of adults are full-time students.
Leatherhead sits below 63% of UK towns for households with dependent children (26%)
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.
3.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%. By way of comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Fewer households in terraced houses than 81% of UK towns: 13%
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
19% of households have no car or van; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. On the census count, 18% of households live in a detached house.
Leatherhead sits below 87% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (92%)
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
Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 16%. Here, 18% of residents were born outside the UK. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 48% in Leatherhead, less than in 62% 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: 78% of Leatherhead · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Islam is the religion of 2.1% of residents. On residents with no religion, Leatherhead sits lower than 52% of UK towns: 41%. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns is 46%.
Leatherhead ranks below 86% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 42%
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
Unpaid carers: 8%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. The share of adults who have never married stands at 40%. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
41% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Leatherhead counts 41% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 14% have no qualification (18%).
71st youngest of 432 UK towns of 8,000 to 16,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Leatherhead in age: Buckingham (40.7), Wendover (40.7), Kearsley (40.8) and New Rossington and Rossington (40.8).
Leatherhead 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leatherhead | 11,482 | — | 40.7 | 19% | 26% |
| Ashtead | 14,830 | 1.2 mi | 47 | 24% | 32% |
| Great Bookham and Fetcham | 21,655 | 2.2 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 27% |
| Langley Vale | 1,515 | 2.8 mi | 46.2 | 18% | 32% |
| Cobham | 17,505 | 3.3 mi | 44.6 | 20% | 36% |
| Epsom | 35,857 | 3.5 mi | 39.6 | 15% | 35% |
| Box Hill | 1,271 | 3.7 mi | 65.2 | 50% | 6.6% |
| Tadworth and Epsom Downs | 27,095 | 4.3 mi | 44.2 | 21% | 32% |
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 Leatherhead’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. Leatherhead’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 12,082 people in 2021, against 11,482 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 Leatherhead’s residents
What is the population of Leatherhead?
The 2021 Census counted 11,482 people in Leatherhead’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,700 people in mid-2024, 11% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Leatherhead?
The median age was 40.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 77% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Leatherhead?
78% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 18% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Leatherhead?
41% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.1% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Leatherhead good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Leatherhead’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.