Photo: Maxwell Hamilton from Greater London, England, UK · CC BY 2.0Stanwell is younger than 93% of UK towns: a median age of 36.6
Here a third of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. The 2021 Census put Stanwell’s population at 11,728, in 4,447 households. Households in detached houses: 7.2% of the total. Few places have as many shared households of unrelated adults: 5% here, more than in 96% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Stanwell’s people
More born abroad than most towns
32% 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 (15%) and in EU countries (10%). Where people were born ↓
A town of families
36% of Stanwell’s 4,447 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 95% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A mix of backgrounds
48% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 98% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Indian (13%), Other White (11%) and Pakistani (4.1%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Stanwell’s residents are under 36.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Only 12% of residents are 65 or over in Stanwell
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 30–34 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Higher than in 82% of UK towns: 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24. In Banstead, the oldest of Surrey’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Stanwell, 36.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
5.4% of adults are full-time students, more than in 73% 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%.
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 9% in Stanwell and 11% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 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.
A family town: 36% of households have dependent children
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 figure for one-person households is 28% in Stanwell and 30% across England’s towns. Average household size: 2.6 people. Households with dependent children: 29% across England’s towns, for comparison.
20% of households have no car or van, a share 74% of UK towns don’t reach
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
24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, against 26% in Stanwell.
32% born outside the UK, more than in 98% 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 40%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By its share of residents whose main language is English (82%), Stanwell is below 98% of UK towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 98% of UK towns: 52%
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: 52% of Stanwell · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
8% of residents said their religion is Muslim. Residents with no religion are rarer here than in 96% of UK towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns is 73%. Here 45% of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across England’s towns is 46%.
More adults who have never married than 86% of UK towns: 39%
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 321 residents. Stanwell has fewer married adults and civil partners than nearly three quarters of UK towns, at 44%. 8.5% of residents give unpaid care, about the same as across England’s towns.
28% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Stanwell, 28%, and 23% have none, against 18%.
17th youngest of 432 UK towns of 8,000 to 16,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Stanwell in age: Waltham Cross (36.4), Bentley (36.5), Heckmondwike (36.7) and Wick (37.1).
A younger town than 6 of the 7 around it: Stanwell
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanwell | 11,728 | — | 36.6 | 12% | 36% |
| Stanwell Moor | 1,431 | 1.4 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 32% |
| Ashford | 22,823 | 1.5 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 32% |
| Staines-upon-Thames | 21,327 | 1.9 mi | 41.3 | 18% | 28% |
| Ashford Common | 8,333 | 2.5 mi | 41.3 | 18% | 30% |
| Poyle | 1,736 | 2.5 mi | 37.3 | 11% | 35% |
| Laleham | 2,521 | 2.7 mi | 50.3 | 27% | 28% |
| Colnbrook | 1,898 | 3.1 mi | 36.5 | 7.7% | 34% |
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 Stanwell’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 Stanwell’s residents
What is the population of Stanwell?
The 2021 Census counted 11,728 people in Stanwell’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Stanwell?
The median age was 36.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 93% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Stanwell?
52% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 32% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Stanwell?
27% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 8% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Stanwell good for families?
36% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Stanwell’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.