Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Whyteleafe is under 35.3, younger than 96% of UK towns
6.2% of residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 3,174 people lived in Whyteleafe, in 1,457 households. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British stands at 69%. This Surrey town has more one-person households than 92% of UK towns, at 36%.
What the Census says about Whyteleafe’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Whyteleafe’s residents are under 35.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 8% are 15 to 24 and 10% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town of flats
60% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 99% of UK towns. 17% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Whyteleafe at 3,000 in 2011 and 3,800 in 2024, up 29%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 93% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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: +29% since 2011, faster than 93% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Whyteleafe’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,000 people in 2011; 3,800 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 0 to 15 (+45%) and weakest among the 65 and over (+6%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2021 to mid-2022: 190 people.
Only 10% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 12% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 8% in Whyteleafe. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Whyteleafe, 35.3. 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.
Only 3.9% of adults are full-time students in Whyteleafe
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%.
Just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, about the same as across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 83% of UK towns: 2.2 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.
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Whyteleafe, 31%. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 3.5% in the town.
A higher share of households in flats than 99% of UK towns, at 60%
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
Where 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, Whyteleafe has 16%. To put it in context, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. 14% of households live in a detached house. Households without a car or van are more common here than in 58% of UK towns.
Below 82% of UK towns: 94% of residents have English as their main language
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
Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 12% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%). Compared with other places, residents born outside the UK are common here: 17%, more than in 89% of UK towns. As a yardstick, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (5.1%) or in the Middle East and Asia (4.7%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 43%, a lower share than 87% 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: 69% of Whyteleafe · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Islam is the religion of 3.5% of residents. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns is 46%. Whyteleafe has more residents with no religion than 69% of UK towns, at 44%.
Adults who have never married: 48%, a higher share than 98% 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
In Whyteleafe, 36% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for adults who have never married is 39% across England’s towns.
Among adults, 38% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 38% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 11% hold no qualification (18%).
18th youngest of 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people
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 Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to Whyteleafe in age: Longford (33.7), Hertford Heath (35.3), Norton Fitzwarren (35.7) and Queenborough (35.8).
The towns around Whyteleafe are all 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whyteleafe | 3,174 | — | 35.3 | 10% | 31% |
| Warlingham | 8,918 | 1 mi | 46.2 | 24% | 30% |
| Caterham | 22,757 | 1.3 mi | 40.8 | 18% | 34% |
| Chaldon | 1,441 | 2.2 mi | 51.6 | 27% | 29% |
| Woldingham | 2,223 | 2.5 mi | 36.1 | 17% | 34% |
| Netherne on-the-Hill | 1,475 | 3 mi | 37.8 | 8.3% | 44% |
| Hooley | 1,010 | 3.6 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 35% |
| Godstone | 2,648 | 3.9 mi | 43.2 | 20% | 31% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Whyteleafe’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. Whyteleafe’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,395 people in 2021, against 3,174 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 Whyteleafe’s residents
What is the population of Whyteleafe?
The 2021 Census counted 3,174 people in Whyteleafe’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,800 people in mid-2024, 29% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Whyteleafe?
The median age was 35.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 10% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Whyteleafe?
69% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 17% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Whyteleafe?
44% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.5% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Whyteleafe good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Whyteleafe’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. 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.