Photo: RAY JONES · CC BY-SA 2.0Thorpe sits above 99% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (21%)
Residents with no religion: 30%, below 93% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 1,226 residents in Thorpe, living in 407 households. 5.8% of households have no car or van. Lower than in 75% of UK towns: 6.6% of households live in a flat or apartment.
What the Census says about Thorpe’s people
A student village
The 2021 Census counted 179 full-time students aged 16 and over, 18% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 21% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than most towns
24% 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 Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (8.1%) and in EU countries (6.5%). Where people were born ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A median age of 41.1: Thorpe is younger than 74% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 15–19: 16% of residents, 2.8 times the share across England’s towns. On residents aged 65 and over, Thorpe sits lower than just over four fifths of UK towns: 17%.
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.
18% of adults are full-time students, more than in 99% 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%.
13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). Set beside that, 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.
Fewer people live alone than in 97% of UK towns: 21% of households
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults are about as common here as across England’s towns: 4.2%. For comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. On the census count, nearly a third of households have dependent children.
Above 75% of UK towns: 40% of households 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
Across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%; Thorpe has 19%. By way of comparison, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Thorpe ranks above 95% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 24%
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
Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 49%. The share of residents whose main language is English stands at 92%. On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 83% of UK towns: 56%
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: 72% of Thorpe · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (14%), Indian (5%) and Mixed or multiple (2.3%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are scarce here: 72%, fewer than in 92% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
38% of adults have never married, more than in 85% 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
15 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Thorpe has fewer unpaid carers than 70% of UK towns, at 8.6%. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. In Thorpe, 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns.
Among adults, 33% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Thorpe counts 33% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 16% have no qualification (18%). 14% have A levels as their highest qualification, many of them still studying for a degree.
Thorpe and its 7 nearest towns: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorpe | 1,226 | — | 41.1 | 17% | 32% |
| Virginia Water | 5,185 | 1.4 mi | 46.6 | 21% | 32% |
| Lyne | 1,202 | 1.5 mi | 50.2 | 24% | 22% |
| Egham | 28,003 | 1.6 mi | 31.1 | 13% | 27% |
| Laleham | 2,521 | 1.9 mi | 50.3 | 27% | 28% |
| Chertsey | 14,558 | 2 mi | 39.3 | 16% | 30% |
| Staines-upon-Thames | 21,327 | 2.2 mi | 41.3 | 18% | 28% |
| Addlestone | 13,748 | 3.2 mi | 39.7 | 17% | 29% |
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 Thorpe’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 Thorpe’s residents
What is the population of Thorpe?
The 2021 Census counted 1,226 people in Thorpe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Thorpe?
The median age was 41.1 at the 2021 Census. 21% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
Is Thorpe a student village?
Yes: 18% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (179 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Thorpe?
72% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 24% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thorpe?
30% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.4% were Muslim and 7.1% didn’t answer.
Is Thorpe good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thorpe’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.