The Old Bell Inn · Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0In Oxted, 33% of households have dependent children, more than in 89% of UK towns
Compared with 23% across England’s towns, a fifth of households live in a flat or apartment here. The 2021 Census counted 11,491 residents in 4,551 households. The share of one-person households stands at 27%. On married adults and civil partners, Oxted sits higher than 73% of UK towns: 52%.
From 2011 to 2024, Oxted outgrew 55% of UK towns: +9%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Oxted’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 12,000 people in 2011; 13,000 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2023: 250 more people. By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+22%) and the 0 to 15 group least (−1%).
Oxted is younger than 62% of UK towns: a median age of 42.9
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, against 21% in Oxted. On the census count, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Oxted, 42.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
5.4% of adults are full-time students, more than in 72% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 46% of Oxted’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 16%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. For Oxted, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.5 people per household, more than in 87% of UK towns
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 share of shared households of unrelated adults is 2.4%, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
Oxted sits below 68% of UK towns for households without a car or van (12%)
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
31% of households live in a detached house; across England’s towns the figure is 21%. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns. In Oxted, 19% of households live in a terraced house.
10% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 74% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (3.7%), then in Africa (2%). By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. On residents whose main language is English, Oxted sits lower than 51% of UK towns: 98%. 15% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
Oxted ranks below 72% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 88%
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: 88% of Oxted · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents who describe themselves as Christian (50%), Oxted is above 53% of UK towns. 41% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 51% of UK towns. Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (6%), Mixed or multiple (2.8%) and Indian (0.6%).
30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 64% 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
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care, about the same as across England’s towns. Across the comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 41% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
41% of Oxted’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 13% have none (18%).
149th lowest median age among 432 UK towns of 8,000 to 16,000
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 Oxted in age: Shildon (42.9), Broughton Astley (42.9), Abertillery (42.9) and Brough (43).
5 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Oxted
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxted | 11,491 | — | 42.9 | 21% | 33% |
| Limpsfield | 2,247 | 0.8 mi | 48.6 | 26% | 29% |
| Woldingham | 2,223 | 2.9 mi | 36.1 | 17% | 34% |
| Godstone | 2,648 | 3 mi | 43.2 | 20% | 31% |
| South Godstone | 1,525 | 3 mi | 40.2 | 18% | 33% |
| Westerham | 3,390 | 3.3 mi | 45.3 | 20% | 30% |
| Tatsfield | 1,379 | 3.4 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 30% |
| Marlpit Hill | 1,271 | 3.6 mi | 47.6 | 25% | 30% |
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 Oxted’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. Oxted’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 12,507 people in 2021, against 11,491 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 Oxted’s residents
What is the population of Oxted?
The 2021 Census counted 11,491 people in Oxted’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 13,000 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Oxted?
The median age was 42.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 62% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Oxted?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Oxted?
41% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Oxted good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Oxted’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.