Eltham is home to families in their thirties and forties, homeowners in the majority, with a solid minority renting from the council or a housing association. Nearly six in ten own their home. About one household in five is a couple with children. The typical resident is just under forty. It is the most middle-of-the-road part of London, and it is happy to stay that way.
About 57% of Eltham households own their home, according to the 2021 Census, which is also the source for every population figure on this page. About 15% rent privately and about 27% rent from a council or housing association. Social renters outnumber private renters here, which is unusual for London and means Eltham's private landlords are fewer than the town's size would suggest.
The typical Eltham resident is about 39, and about 28% of the population is aged 25 to 44. It is a place of working adults who have stopped moving around and are now arguing about loft conversions.
The Office for National Statistics models typical household income in Eltham at about £76,000 a year before tax, for the financial year to March 2023. Gross is the figure people quote at dinner parties, and net is what pays the mortgage.
Household types are mixed. About 28% of households are one person living alone, and about 13% are a pensioner living alone, which is a subset of that first group. About 21% are couples with dependent children and about 14% are lone parents. Eltham houses retired people next door to young families, and the school run and the bus pass share the same bus stops.
About 36% of adults hold a degree-level qualification and about 19% have no qualifications. Full-time students are about 2% of residents. The University of Greenwich used to have a campus in Avery Hill Park, but it has closed, and so has any chance of student house parties keeping the neighbours awake. Eltham is a place where people come back to after university.
About 83% of residents describe their health as good or very good. Measured across the Royal Borough of Greenwich, preventable deaths and smoking rates are similar to England's averages. Health here is unremarkable, which is about the best result a borough can hope for.
Eltham's residents are an average, mixed lot: homeowners and social renters, retirees and young families, graduates and school leavers, which in London is rarer than it sounds and more ordinary than the local estate agents would like.