Photo: Ian Capper · CC BY-SA 2.0

47.4Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Fewer households without a car or van than 95% of UK towns: 7.1%

Unpaid carers: 4.8% here and 8.7% across England’s towns. Leigh is home to 265 residents in 114 households, by the 2021 Census. For Leigh, the census puts households with dependent children at 32%. 1.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 82% of UK towns.

22%aged 65 or over 9.8%born abroad 114households

Ages

Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.7%, a lower share than 83% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

LeighEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 9% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. On the census count, 22% of residents are 65 or over. Half of Leigh’s residents are over 47.4, older than in 71% of UK towns. The wider picture: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1519%

15 to 248.7%

25 to 4419%

45 to 6431%

65 and over22%

LeighSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

49% women, 51% men

Leigh

England

WomenMen

About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

5.7% of adults are full-time students, more than in 80% 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

Full-time students5.7%

Higher managerial and professional21%

Lower managerial and professional18%

Intermediate11%

Small employers and self-employed21%

Supervisory and technical6.2%

Semi-routine8.6%

Routine6.2%

Never worked or long-term unemployed2.4%

LeighSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Leigh

9.1%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 9.1%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0× England’s share

Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier; across England’s towns the figure is 11%. As a yardstick, 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.

Households

In Leigh, 28% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 66% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 18%Living alone, under 66 11%Families with dependent children 32%Couples and families, no young children 39%Shared houses and other 1.8%

Against Surrey’s towns and England’s towns

Leigh

Surrey’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person30%

2 people36%

3 people15%

4 people12%

5 or more7%

England’s towns.

Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Leigh, 2.3. The comparison figure for one-person households is 30% across England’s towns.

Homes & cars

In Leigh, 12% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 83% of UK towns

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Leigh

Surrey’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van7.1%

One32%

Two46%

Three or more14%

LeighSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

The share of households in detached houses trails 69% of UK towns: 22%. Add to that, on households in flats, Leigh sits lower than 51% of UK towns: 11%. For households in terraced houses, the comparison across England’s towns is 24%.

Where people were born

99% of residents have English as their main language, a share 93% 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%

Leigh

9.8%

Surrey’s towns

18%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.8%

Another main language, little or no English0%

LeighSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Born outside the UK: 9.8% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (4.2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.3%).

Ethnicity & religion

43% said they have no religion, more than in 67% 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

LeighSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White5.3%

Asian0%

Mixed1.9%

Black0%

Other0%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 93% of Leigh · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

LeighSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion43%

Christian47%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist1.1%

Other religion0.4%

Didn’t answer7.9%

0%30%60%

Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 47%, below 67% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as White British at 93% in Leigh.

Relationships & caring

24% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 95% of UK towns

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership24%

Married or civil partnership54%

Separated1.9%

Divorced11%

Widowed8.6%

LeighSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

12residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 4.8%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week2.4%

20 to 49 hours2%

50 hours or more0.4%

Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Leigh has 54%. To put it in context, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 1 people.

Qualifications

Degree-level qualifications: 40% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications14%

Apprenticeship6.7%

A levels or similar13%

Degree level40%

LeighSurrey’s townsEngland’s towns

Degree-level qualifications cover 40% of adults in Leigh, 34% across England’s towns; 14% have no qualification, against 18%.

Neighbours

3 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Leigh

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

BrockhamReigateBox HillBeare GreenDorkingSalfordsRedhillLeigh

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Leigh	265	—	47.4	22%	32%
Brockham	2,206	2.1 mi	50.3	27%	27%
Reigate	23,774	2.8 mi	41.8	18%	35%
Box Hill	1,271	3.5 mi	65.2	50%	6.6%
Beare Green	1,940	3.6 mi	51	28%	21%
Dorking	17,463	3.7 mi	44.9	21%	27%
Salfords	1,873	3.7 mi	44.6	22%	27%
Redhill	32,516	3.9 mi	38	14%	33%

More about Leigh’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Leigh’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 Leigh’s residents

What is the population of Leigh?

The 2021 Census counted 265 people in Leigh’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Leigh?

The median age was 47.4 at the 2021 Census. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Leigh?

93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 9.8% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Leigh?

43% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.9% didn’t answer.

Is Leigh good for families?

32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Leigh’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.