Photo: Stacey Harris · CC BY-SA 2.0Rowly is older than 93% of UK towns: a median age of 52.4
Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Rowly comes in at 68%. Households in detached houses are more common here than in 99% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Rowly was home to 660 people in 257 households. Here, 26% of residents said they have no religion.
Rowly ranks above 90% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 30%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. Here, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 92% of UK towns: 6.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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 take in just over half of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 11% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Compared with other places, full-time students are common here: 5.4%, more than in 71% of UK towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Below 99% of UK towns: 18% 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.
A household here has 2.6 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Across the comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 2% of the total. Households with dependent children are more common here than in 71% of UK towns.
1.2% of households live in a terraced house, below 99% 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 without a car or van: 4%, below 99% of UK towns. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. 0.8% of households live in a flat or apartment.
Rowly ranks above 94% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 99%
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.4%). Residents born outside the UK are more common here than in 72% of UK towns. For comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 99% of UK towns, at 67%
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: 91% of Rowly · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (4.4%), Mixed or multiple (2.3%) and Chinese (0.8%). Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%. Lower than in 57% of UK towns: 91% of residents describe themselves as White British.
Below 99% of UK towns: 19% 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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 10 people. Rowly has fewer unpaid carers than 91% of UK towns, at 7.5%. Typically, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
49% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Rowly counts 49% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 8.2% have no qualification (18%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Rowly, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowly | 660 | — | 52.4 | 30% | 30% |
| Cranleigh | 10,430 | 1.3 mi | 45.6 | 26% | 26% |
| Shamley Green | 1,200 | 2.1 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 31% |
| Ewhurst | 1,517 | 2.9 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 24% |
| Bramley and Wonersh | 4,193 | 3.3 mi | 46.7 | 23% | 29% |
| Chilworth | 1,917 | 4.2 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 29% |
| Shalford | 2,508 | 4.7 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Gomshall | 1,378 | 4.9 mi | 46 | 19% | 32% |
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 Rowly’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 Rowly’s residents
What is the population of Rowly?
The 2021 Census counted 660 people in Rowly’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Rowly?
The median age was 52.4 at the 2021 Census. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rowly?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 9.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Rowly?
26% said they had no religion and 67% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Rowly good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Rowly’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.