Photo: Alan Hunt · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 7.4% in Shalford, less than in 97% of UK towns
Adults who have never married make up 27%, against 39% across England’s towns. 2,508 residents in 1,100 households: that is Shalford at the 2021 Census. Across Shalford, 9.1% of households have no car or van. Households in detached houses are more common here than in 83% of UK towns.
Half of Shalford is over 46.2, older than 63% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (23%), Shalford is above 58% of UK towns. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 7.9% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Shalford, 46.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Shalford: 9.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 64% 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%.
With full-time students at 4.9%, Shalford is ahead of 55% of UK towns on that count. Elsewhere, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Shared houses: 3.4% of households are unrelated adults, more than in 84% 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.
At 2.3 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. One-person households are more common here than in 63% of UK towns. The share of shared households of unrelated adults across England’s towns is 4.3%. Households with dependent children: 27% of the total.
Shalford: 14% of households live in a flat or apartment, above 64% 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
The share of households in terraced houses trails just over three fifths of UK towns: 17%. Households in flats make up 23% across England’s towns.
Shalford: 13% of residents were born outside the UK, above 82% 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 (4.7%), then in the Middle East and Asia (2.8%). The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns. 97% of residents have English as their main language, a lower share than in 62% of UK towns. The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 15% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 54% in Shalford, more 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: 89% of Shalford · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (6.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Indian (0.8%). On residents who describe themselves as White British, Shalford sits lower than 68% of UK towns: 89%. Measured more widely, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. At 37%, residents with no religion sit close to the figure across England’s towns.
More married adults and civil partners than 88% of UK towns: 55%
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 make up 7.7%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, married adults and civil partners come to 44%. 33 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 56% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
8.7% of Shalford’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 56% have one at degree level (34%).
100th youngest of 219 UK towns of 2,500 to 3,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Keele is the youngest (20.6); St Mary's Bay the oldest (60.8). Nearest to Shalford in age: Brynamman (46.1), Wing (46.2), St Martins (46.3) and Asfordby (46.3).
Older than Shalford: 2 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shalford | 2,508 | — | 46.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Chilworth | 1,917 | 1.1 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 29% |
| Bramley and Wonersh | 4,193 | 1.4 mi | 46.7 | 23% | 29% |
| Farncombe | 13,247 | 2.3 mi | 41.3 | 19% | 29% |
| Guildford | 77,870 | 2.4 mi | 34.7 | 14% | 29% |
| Shamley Green | 1,200 | 2.6 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 31% |
| Godalming | 10,450 | 3.1 mi | 41.5 | 17% | 32% |
| Wood Street Village | 1,586 | 3.8 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 34% |
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 Shalford’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 Shalford’s residents
What is the population of Shalford?
The 2021 Census counted 2,508 people in Shalford’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shalford?
The median age was 46.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 63% of UK towns. 7.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shalford?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shalford?
37% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 7.2% didn’t answer.
Is Shalford good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shalford’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.