Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 7.8% of households live in a terraced house in Shamley Green
Half of Shamley Green’s residents are over 47.7, older than in 73% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 1,200 people lived locally, in 501 households. On the census count, nearly three in five residents describe themselves as Christian. Households in detached houses make up 44%, against 21% across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 69% of UK towns, at 9.2%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 24% here and 18% across England’s towns. In Banstead, the oldest of Surrey’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
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. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 92% of UK towns: 7.2% of adults are full-time students
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%.
9.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 79% of UK towns: 2.4 people each on average
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 households with dependent children is 31%, against 29% across England’s towns. On shared households of unrelated adults, Shamley Green sits higher than 81% of UK towns: 3.2%. One-person households: 30% of the total.
Shamley Green sits below 77% of UK towns for households without a car or van (11%)
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 figure for households in flats is 8.8% in Shamley Green and 23% across England’s towns. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 9.7%, a higher share than 73% 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
The figure for residents whose main language is English is 98% in Shamley Green and 90% across England’s towns. Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in Africa (3%) and in EU countries (2.6%).
No religion: 31% of residents, a lower share than 92% 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: 90% of Shamley Green · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (5.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (0.8%). Residents who describe themselves as White British are rarer here than in 64% of UK towns. The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 37% across England’s towns.
Shamley Green: 56% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, above 92% 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
27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers account for 8.4%.
A degree-level qualification for 49% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Shamley Green, 49% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 12% have no qualification at all (18%). 15% have A levels as their highest qualification, many of them still studying for a degree.
Shamley Green is older than every town around it
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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 Shamley Green’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 Shamley Green’s residents
What is the population of Shamley Green?
The 2021 Census counted 1,200 people in Shamley Green’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shamley Green?
The median age was 47.7 at the 2021 Census. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shamley Green?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 9.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shamley Green?
31% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 7.9% didn’t answer.
Is Shamley Green good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shamley Green’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.