Photo: Peter Trimming · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of households with dependent children than 96% of UK towns: 37%
Households in flats: 27% here and 23% across England’s towns. 9,953 residents in 3,922 households: that is South Merstham at the 2021 Census. Locally, 31% of households live in a terraced house. One-person households are rarer here than in 75% of UK towns.
What the Census says about South Merstham’s people
A town of families
37% of South Merstham’s 3,922 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 96% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of South Merstham’s residents are under 37.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 9.2% are 15 to 24 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
From 2011 to 2024, South Merstham outgrew 67% of UK towns: +12%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. South Merstham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 9,500 people in 2011; 10,600 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2013 to mid-2014, the population rose by 220, the most of any year. Growth was strongest among the 45 to 64 (+19%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−5%).
Younger than 91% of UK towns: half of South Merstham is under 37.5
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24 (England’s towns: 12%). For South Merstham, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 13%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ South Merstham, 37.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In South Merstham, 4.9% of adults are full-time students, more than in 55% 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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in South Merstham, 40% and 19%. Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Larger households than 91% of UK towns: 2.5 people 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.
3.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%.
Only 13% of households in South Merstham live in a detached house
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
17% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Fewer residents whose main language is English than 83% of UK towns: 94%
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
Here 16% of residents were born outside the UK, where the figure across England’s towns is 18%. The benchmark for residents whose main language is English across England’s towns: 90%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (5.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (4.2%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 76% in South Merstham, less than in 87% 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: 76% of South Merstham · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 47% of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across England’s towns is 46%. By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. 3.1% of residents said their religion is Muslim.
37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 79% 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
Married adults and civil partners make up 46%, against 44% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Census figures put unpaid carers at 8% in South Merstham.
Among adults, 37% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
37% of South Merstham’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have none (18%).
From a median age of 36 in Redhill East to 40 in Reigate Hill & Gatton
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Reigate Hill & Gatton is the oldest area, with 18% aged 65 or over; Redhill East the youngest (median age 36). Families with children are most common in Merstham (38% of households).
413 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000 people: this is the 22nd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tidworth (28.4) and the oldest Seaton (61). Nearest to South Merstham in age: City of London (37.3), Chadwell St Mary (37.4), Hilton (37.6) and Goldthorpe (38).
South Merstham is younger than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Merstham | 9,953 | — | 37.5 | 13% | 37% |
| Redhill | 32,516 | 1.9 mi | 38 | 14% | 33% |
| Netherne on-the-Hill | 1,475 | 2.3 mi | 37.8 | 8.3% | 44% |
| South Nutfield | 1,951 | 2.3 mi | 45.7 | 20% | 30% |
| Hooley | 1,010 | 2.3 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 35% |
| Chaldon | 1,441 | 2.4 mi | 51.6 | 27% | 29% |
| Bletchingley | 2,372 | 2.4 mi | 43.8 | 19% | 32% |
| Reigate | 23,774 | 2.8 mi | 41.8 | 18% | 35% |
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 South Merstham’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. South Merstham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 10,144 people in 2021, against 9,953 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 South Merstham’s residents
What is the population of South Merstham?
The 2021 Census counted 9,953 people in South Merstham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,600 people in mid-2024, 12% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in South Merstham?
The median age was 37.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 91% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 13% were 65 or over.
How diverse is South Merstham?
76% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 16% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in South Merstham?
42% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.1% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is South Merstham good for families?
37% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Merstham (38% of households). Schools are on South Merstham’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.