Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0A town of families: 36% of West Molesey’s households have children
The figure for married adults and civil partners is 54% in West Molesey and 44% across England’s towns. This Surrey town is home to 47,144 residents in 18,495 households, by the 2021 Census. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as White British at 76% here. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 25%, fewer than in 85% of UK towns.
What the Census says about West Molesey’s people
A town of families
36% of West Molesey’s 18,495 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 95% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
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.
West Molesey changed by +6% from 2011 to 2024, behind 59% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. West Molesey’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 45,800 people in 2011; 48,300 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+18%) and the 30 to 44 least (−14%). In one year, mid-2012 to mid-2013, the population rose by 740, the most of any year.
Below 69% of UK towns: 9.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 45–49: 8.3% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 18%. The median age in West Molesey is 43, lower than in 62% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ West Molesey, 43. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A student town: 5.8% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in just over half of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 12% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%. In West Molesey, 9.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 92% 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.
Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in West Molesey.
A higher share of households in flats than 85% of UK towns, at 21%
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
Nearly a fifth of households live in a terraced house; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. The usual figure: nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. The share of households without a car or van stands at 12%.
Residents whose main language is English make up 94% in West Molesey, less than in 82% 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 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (6.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (4.7%). Across England’s towns, 90% of residents have English as their main language. More residents born outside the UK than in 91% of UK towns: 18%.
Only 38% of residents said they have no religion in West Molesey
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 West Molesey · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (10%), Mixed or multiple (4.1%) and Indian (2.6%). By way of comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Nearly half of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns.
A smaller share of unpaid carers than 92% of UK towns: 7.4%
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 771 residents. For unpaid carers, the comparison across England’s towns is 8.7%. 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a lower share than in 68% of UK towns.
54% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 54% of adults in West Molesey (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 10% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 41 in West Molesey South to 46 in Claygate
The town’s 7 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Claygate is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; West Molesey South the youngest (median age 41). Families with children are most common in Hinchley Wood & Weston Green (41% of households).
156 UK towns of 33,000 to 64,000 people: this is the 47th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 27.5 in Canterbury to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to West Molesey in age: Bromsgrove (42.9), Denton (43), Carlton (43.1) and Hinckley (43.1).
Older than West Molesey: 3 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Molesey | 47,144 | — | 43 | 18% | 36% |
| Esher | 9,484 | 1.5 mi | 45.4 | 19% | 35% |
| Kingston upon Thames | 166,333 | 2.5 mi | 38.6 | 14% | 33% |
| Walton-on-Thames | 27,016 | 2.8 mi | 40.1 | 16% | 33% |
| Hersham | 12,622 | 3 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 38% |
| Sunbury-on-Thames | 21,476 | 3.7 mi | 40.5 | 17% | 34% |
| Upper Halliford | 2,337 | 4.1 mi | 50 | 29% | 24% |
| Worcester Park and Stoneleigh | 15,851 | 4.2 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 32% |
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 West Molesey’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. West Molesey’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 47,897 people in 2021, against 47,144 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 West Molesey’s residents
What is the population of West Molesey?
The 2021 Census counted 47,144 people in West Molesey’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 48,300 people in mid-2024, 6% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in West Molesey?
The median age was 43 at the 2021 Census, younger than 62% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Molesey?
76% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 18% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Molesey?
38% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.5% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is West Molesey good for families?
36% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Hinchley Wood & Weston Green (41% of households). Schools are on West Molesey’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.