Mostly homeowners in their late thirties, many of them raising children. Two in three own their home. About a fifth rent from a council or housing association. A quarter of households are couples with children. Carshalton is mainly a town of mortgages, with a fair amount of social housing too.
According to the 2021 Census, which is the source for every population figure on this page, about 65% of Carshalton's households own their home, about 14% rent privately and about 20% rent from a council or housing association. Social tenants outnumber private renters here, which is not what most people would guess after a first walk round the ponds and the antique shops. With only one household in seven renting privately, Carshalton has few flats to let for anyone looking for a place to rent.
The median resident is 39, and about 29% of people are aged between 25 and 44. That is a population in the middle of mortgages and young families, more than students or retirees.
The Office for National Statistics models average household income across Carshalton at about £82,000 before tax for the financial year to March 2023, so it describes the area three years ago, not today. It is also an average across the whole area, so it covers well-off streets and much less well-off ones alike. After tax, the money available for a mortgage is noticeably less.
Of Carshalton's 17,486 households, couples with dependent children make up about 25% and lone parents about 14%. People living alone make up about 24% of households, and about 10% of all households are a pensioner living alone, which is part of that 24%. Families with children and people living on their own come out roughly level, so the school run and the solitary pint of milk on the doorstep share the same roads.
About 37% of adults hold a degree, about 16% have no formal qualifications, and only about 2% of residents are full-time students. Carshalton has no university, so very few students live here.
About 84% of residents describe their health as good or very good. Across the London Borough of Sutton, the rate of deaths that could have been prevented is better than the England average, and smoking, at about 9% of adults, is similar to the England figure. Both are borough-wide figures compared with England, not figures for Carshalton alone.
Carshalton is a middling mix: mostly families who own their homes, with a fair share of social housing, a broad spread of qualifications and incomes healthy enough to keep the mortgages paid.