Photo: Stefan Czapski · CC BY-SA 2.0Staines-upon-Thames: 32% of households live in a flat or apartment, above 96% of UK towns
Here 17% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. 21,327 residents in 9,135 households: that is Staines-upon-Thames at the 2021 Census. Residents with no religion: 33% of the total. The median age locally is 41.3, lower than in 73% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Staines-upon-Thames’s people
More born abroad than most towns
23% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across Surrey’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (9.1%) and in EU countries (8.3%). Where people were born ↓
A town of flats
32% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 96% of UK towns. 18% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
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.
A growing town: +10% since 2011, faster than 60% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Staines-upon-Thames’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 21,400 people in 2011; 23,500 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+14%) and 16 to 29 least (±0%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2024: 490 more people.
Only 9.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Staines-upon-Thames
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 30–34 than any other five-year age: 8% of residents. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over are rarer here than in 79% of UK towns. In Banstead, the oldest of Surrey’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Staines-upon-Thames, 41.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A student town: 5.1% of adults study full-time
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%.
Nothing unusual on residents who moved in within the year: 11%, close to the figure across England’s towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Above 94% of UK towns: 4.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home
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.
In Staines-upon-Thames the average household is 2.3 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%. For Staines-upon-Thames, the census puts households with dependent children at 28%.
Households without a car or van make up 18% in Staines-upon-Thames, more than in 62% 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
A fifth of households live in a terraced house. The comparison figure for households without a car or van is 24% across England’s towns.
Staines-upon-Thames ranks above 95% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 23%
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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (9.1%) and in EU countries (8.3%). By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Fewer residents whose main language is English than in 94% of UK towns: 89%.
In Staines-upon-Thames, 68% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 94% 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: 68% of Staines-upon-Thames · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
3.2% of residents said their religion is Muslim. Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 50%, against 46% across England’s towns.
35% of adults have never married, more than in 68% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 446 residents. Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. On unpaid carers, Staines-upon-Thames sits lower than 73% of UK towns: 8.5%. In Staines-upon-Thames, 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 39%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Staines-upon-Thames’s adults: 39% with a degree-level qualification and 14% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
From a median age of 38 in Staines Town to 48 in Thorpe
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Thorpe is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Staines Town the youngest (median age 38). Families with children are most common in Staines South East (34% of households).
289 UK towns of 15,000 to 29,000 people: this is the 80th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bangor (26.4), the youngest, and South Hayling (57.2), the oldest. Nearest to Staines-upon-Thames in age: Chesham (41.1), Thatcham (41.1), Keynsham (41.3) and Bodmin (41.3).
Staines-upon-Thames and its 7 nearest towns: 2 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staines-upon-Thames | 21,327 | — | 41.3 | 18% | 28% |
| Laleham | 2,521 | 0.9 mi | 50.3 | 27% | 28% |
| Ashford | 22,823 | 1.4 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 32% |
| Stanwell | 11,728 | 1.9 mi | 36.6 | 12% | 36% |
| Thorpe | 1,226 | 2.2 mi | 41.1 | 17% | 32% |
| Stanwell Moor | 1,431 | 2.2 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 32% |
| Egham | 28,003 | 2.3 mi | 31.1 | 13% | 27% |
| Shepperton Green | 4,358 | 2.4 mi | 44.4 | 20% | 30% |
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 Staines-upon-Thames’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. Staines-upon-Thames’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 22,530 people in 2021, against 21,327 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 Staines-upon-Thames’s residents
What is the population of Staines-upon-Thames?
The 2021 Census counted 21,327 people in Staines-upon-Thames’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 23,500 people in mid-2024, 10% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Staines-upon-Thames?
The median age was 41.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 73% of UK towns. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Staines-upon-Thames?
68% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 23% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Staines-upon-Thames?
33% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.2% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Staines-upon-Thames good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Staines South East (34% of households). Schools are on Staines-upon-Thames’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.