Photo: SuzanneKn at en.wikipedia · Public domainAbove 95% of UK towns: 57% of households live in a detached house
Half of Lightwater’s residents are over 49.3, older than in 82% of UK towns. This Surrey town had 6,539 residents in 2,788 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 7.5% of households have no car or van. Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 56% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here.
Slower growth than 85% of UK towns: Lightwater changed by ±0% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Lightwater’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 6,800 people in 2011; 6,800 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+39%), the 30 to 44 group the smallest (−20%).
Below 74% of UK towns: 9% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
25% of Lightwater is 65 or over, against 19% across Surrey’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Lightwater, 49.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
Full-time students make up 4.5% in Lightwater, less than in 67% 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 Lightwater comes in at 8.1%. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Below 75% of UK towns: 27% of households are one person living alone
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 figure for households with dependent children is 26% in Lightwater and 29% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The average household has 2.3 people. Higher than in 55% of UK towns: 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
In Lightwater, 14% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 78% 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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 12% of households live in a flat or apartment in Lightwater. Across England’s towns, households in terraced houses come to 24%.
Lightwater: 11% of residents born outside the UK
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.8%). Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns. Fewer residents whose main language is English than in nearly two thirds of UK towns: 97%.
86% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 76% 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 Lightwater · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (5.5%), Indian (2.5%) and Mixed or multiple (2.2%). Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as Christian: 53% here, more than in 72% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%; Lightwater has 36%.
Only 27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Lightwater
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 care takes 50 hours a week or more for 102 people. By way of comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Few places have so few unpaid carers: 7.9% here, fewer than in 86% of UK towns.
39% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Lightwater, 39% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 12% have no qualification at all (18%).
Among 473 UK towns of 5,000 to 9,000 people, the 103rd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Red Lodge (30.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Lightwater in age: Edwinstowe (49.3), Highworth (49.3), Tadcaster (49.4) and Fakenham (49.4).
The towns around Lightwater are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightwater | 6,539 | — | 49.3 | 25% | 26% |
| Bagshot | 5,930 | 1.2 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 30% |
| Windlesham | 3,706 | 1.6 mi | 48.4 | 23% | 29% |
| West End and Chobham | 8,877 | 1.6 mi | 41.5 | 18% | 37% |
| Bisley | 4,045 | 2.2 mi | 41.6 | 17% | 33% |
| Camberley | 36,787 | 2.7 mi | 42.7 | 19% | 31% |
| Deepcut | 2,163 | 3 mi | 34.4 | 8.3% | 40% |
| Pirbright | 3,920 | 3 mi | 24.7 | 6% | 47% |
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 Lightwater’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. Lightwater’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,539 people in 2021, against 6,539 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 Lightwater’s residents
What is the population of Lightwater?
The 2021 Census counted 6,539 people in Lightwater’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,800 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Lightwater?
The median age was 49.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 82% of UK towns. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lightwater?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lightwater?
36% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Lightwater good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Lightwater’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.