Church of St John the Baptist · Photo: Mertbiol · CC0In Windlesham, 4.7% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Households in terraced houses make up 9.5%, against 24% across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 59% of the total. Adults who have never married are rarer here than in 95% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put Windlesham’s population at 3,706, in 1,552 households.
Only 8.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Windlesham
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Windlesham’s residents are over 48.4, older than in 76% of UK towns. The usual figure: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 23%. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Windlesham, 48.4. 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.
A student town: 5.5% 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%.
The share of residents who moved in within the year tops 55% of UK towns: 9%. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A lower share of one-person households than 84% of UK towns, at 25%
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.
Households with dependent children are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 29%. Across Windlesham, 1.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. On average, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
A higher share of households in detached houses than 96% 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
Here 7.9% of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%.
More residents born outside the UK than 84% of UK towns: 14%
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (4.1%), then in Africa (3.4%). Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 98% here, fewer than in 52% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 12% (England’s towns: 21%).
Residents with no religion make up 32% in Windlesham, less than in 90% 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: 84% of Windlesham · Surrey’s towns 76% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 84% of residents describe themselves as White British, where the figure across England’s towns is 73%. The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 37% across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (6.9%), Mixed or multiple (2.5%) and Indian (2.2%).
59% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 97% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Unpaid carers make up 6.6% of residents, against 8.7% across England’s towns. 58 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 46%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 46% of its adults qualified to degree level, Windlesham compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 9.6% hold no qualification (18%).
194th highest median age among 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Windlesham in age: Trimley St Mary (48.4), Mayland (48.4), Bishopthorpe (48.5) and Gilberdyke (48.5).
Median age: 1 of the 7 towns around Windlesham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windlesham | 3,706 | — | 48.4 | 23% | 29% |
| Lightwater | 6,539 | 1.6 mi | 49.3 | 25% | 26% |
| Bagshot | 5,930 | 1.7 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 30% |
| West End and Chobham | 8,877 | 1.9 mi | 41.5 | 18% | 37% |
| Ascot | 24,003 | 2.6 mi | 45.6 | 20% | 31% |
| Bisley | 4,045 | 3.1 mi | 41.6 | 17% | 33% |
| Camberley | 36,787 | 4 mi | 42.7 | 19% | 31% |
| Pirbright | 3,920 | 4.4 mi | 24.7 | 6% | 47% |
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 Windlesham’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 Windlesham’s residents
What is the population of Windlesham?
The 2021 Census counted 3,706 people in Windlesham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Windlesham?
The median age was 48.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 76% of UK towns. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Windlesham?
84% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 76% across Surrey’s towns. 14% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Windlesham?
32% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.5% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Windlesham good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Windlesham’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.