Photo: Howard Hudson · CC BY 2.5A larger share of households in flats than 97% of UK towns: 35%
By its share of households with dependent children (33%), Walton-on-Thames is above 90% of UK towns. This Surrey town had 27,016 residents and 11,269 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 40.1 (younger than 80% of UK towns). For Walton-on-Thames, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.6%. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are scarce here: 73%, fewer than in 91% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Walton-on-Thames’s people
A town of flats
35% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 97% of UK towns. 14% 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.
Walton-on-Thames grew +14% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 73% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Walton-on-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 24,300 people in 2011; 27,600 in 2024.
Between mid-2023 and mid-2024 the population rose by 550, its biggest one-year gain. The 65 and over age group changed most (+28%) and the 16 to 29 least (−8%).
Younger than 80% of UK towns: half of Walton-on-Thames is under 40.1
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 40–44: 8.3% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 16%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Walton-on-Thames, 40.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Walton-on-Thames, 5.1% of adults are full-time students, more than in 60% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 46% of Walton-on-Thames’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 16%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The census found that 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier here. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 76% of UK towns: 2.4 people each 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.
3.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%. One-person households: 29% of the total.
Below 61% of UK towns: 17% of households live in a terraced 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
With households in detached houses at 22%, Walton-on-Thames is behind 69% of UK towns on that count. To put it in context, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. For Walton-on-Thames, the census puts households without a car or van at 14%.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 94% of UK towns, at 21%
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
Against a figure of 90% across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English in Walton-on-Thames comes in at 92%. As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (8.4%), then in the Middle East and Asia (5.1%).
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 56% of UK towns: 51%
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: 73% of Walton-on-Thames · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
At 37%, the share of residents with no religion is in line with the figure across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (12%), Mixed or multiple (4.2%) and Indian (2.5%).
In Walton-on-Thames, 7.6% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 91% 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
35% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care. Here, nearly half of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 45%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 45% of adults in Walton-on-Thames (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 13% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 38 in Walton North & Molesey Heath to 42 in Walton Central
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.
Walton Central is the oldest area, with 19% aged 65 or over; Walton North & Molesey Heath the youngest (median age 38). Families with children are most common in Walton East (41% of households).
Among 247 UK towns of 19,000 to 36,000 people, the 55th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.1 in Egham to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Walton-on-Thames in age: Yate (39.9), Newark-on-Trent (40), Forest Town (40.2) and Stowmarket (40.2).
Walton-on-Thames 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walton-on-Thames | 27,016 | — | 40.1 | 16% | 33% |
| Hersham | 12,622 | 1.2 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 38% |
| Upper Halliford | 2,337 | 1.7 mi | 50 | 29% | 24% |
| Shepperton | 5,917 | 1.8 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 25% |
| Weybridge | 15,918 | 2 mi | 43.1 | 18% | 32% |
| Esher | 9,484 | 2.2 mi | 45.4 | 19% | 35% |
| Sunbury-on-Thames | 21,476 | 2.2 mi | 40.5 | 17% | 34% |
| Shepperton Green | 4,358 | 2.6 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 Walton-on-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. Walton-on-Thames’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 26,285 people in 2021, against 27,016 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 Walton-on-Thames’s residents
What is the population of Walton-on-Thames?
The 2021 Census counted 27,016 people in Walton-on-Thames’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 27,600 people in mid-2024, 14% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Walton-on-Thames?
The median age was 40.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 80% of UK towns. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Walton-on-Thames?
73% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 21% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Walton-on-Thames?
37% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.1% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Walton-on-Thames good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Walton East (41% of households). Schools are on Walton-on-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.