Photo: The Voice of Hassocks · CC0Half of Smallfield is over 50, older than 84% of UK towns
One in ten households have no car or van; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. Smallfield’s 1,128 households held 2,613 residents at the 2021 Census. The census found that 23% of households have dependent children locally. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are common here: 41%, more than in 78% of UK towns.
Smallfield’s population changed by +8% since 2011, more than in 54% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Smallfield’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,700 people in 2011; 2,900 in 2024.
The 16 to 29 group saw the biggest change (+24%), the 30 to 44 group the smallest (−11%). Between mid-2021 and mid-2022 the population rose by 140, its biggest one-year gain.
Smallfield ranks above 74% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 25%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Compared with 12% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 here. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Smallfield, 50. 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.
Below 85% of UK towns: 4% 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%.
In Smallfield, 7.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across England’s towns. 36% of the town’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns.
Smallfield sits above 74% of UK towns for shared households of unrelated adults (2.9%)
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.
Households average 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across England’s towns is 4.3%. One-person households account for 30%.
Smallfield sits below 79% of UK towns for households in terraced houses (13%)
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
Here 7.8% of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. As a yardstick, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Smallfield ranks above 60% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 7.5%
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 (2.8%) and in Africa (2.2%). For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 98% here, more than in 59% of UK towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 6.6% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
A smaller share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 67% of UK towns: 89%
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 Smallfield · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The Muslim share of residents is 1.1%. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 39%, fewer than in 65% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 73% across England’s towns, for comparison. 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 52% in Smallfield.
Adults who have never married make up 29% in Smallfield, less than in 71% 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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 84 people. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 66% of UK towns. On top of that, in Smallfield, 10% of residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns.
25% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Smallfield’s adults: 25% with a degree-level qualification and 19% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Of 514 UK towns its size (2,500 to 4,000 people), the 138th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 20.6 in Keele to 63.1 in West Chiltington. Nearest to Smallfield in age: Metheringham (49.9), Thorngumbald (50), Bedale (50.1) and Tarporley (50.1).
A younger town than 1 of the 7 around it: Smallfield
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smallfield | 2,613 | — | 50 | 25% | 23% |
| Horley | 27,067 | 2 mi | 39.2 | 16% | 34% |
| Copthorne | 4,917 | 2.4 mi | 47.6 | 23% | 28% |
| Salfords | 1,873 | 2.8 mi | 44.6 | 22% | 27% |
| Blindley Heath | 1,289 | 3.3 mi | 42.1 | 18% | 31% |
| South Nutfield | 1,951 | 3.7 mi | 45.7 | 20% | 30% |
| Felbridge | 2,031 | 3.8 mi | 51.3 | 29% | 27% |
| Crawley Down | 5,775 | 4.1 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 28% |
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 Smallfield’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. Smallfield’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,653 people in 2021, against 2,613 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 Smallfield’s residents
What is the population of Smallfield?
The 2021 Census counted 2,613 people in Smallfield’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 2,900 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Smallfield?
The median age was 50 at the 2021 Census, older than 84% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Smallfield?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 7.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Smallfield?
39% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Smallfield good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Smallfield’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.