Mortlake is home to well-paid, well-educated households in early middle age, most of whom own the house they live in. Close to two-thirds own their home. About two-thirds have a degree. The typical resident is in their early forties. Household incomes are above six figures before tax.
The census counted 18,213 people in Mortlake in 2021, and it is the source for the population figures on this page. About 64% of households own their home and about 25% rent privately, with the remaining 11% in social housing. Mortlake was historically a place of self-employed tradesmen. The people who live here now are more likely to hire them.
The median resident is 41, and about 27% of residents are aged 25 to 44. Those are the years of mortgages, careers and young children, and Mortlake has plenty of all three. Mortlake is not a retirement place, and it is not a student district either.
The Office for National Statistics models typical gross household income across Mortlake at about £107,500 a year for the financial year to March 2023. That is income before tax, averaged across the area's neighbourhoods and now a few years old, so it describes the district at that point and not any one household today. Two senior salaries under one roof are enough to reach that figure.
About 29% of households are couples with dependent children, the largest single group. About 28% are one person living alone, and within that group about 12% of all households are a single pensioner. Lone parents head about 9% of households. Families are the biggest group, but a large number of people here live alone.
About 66% of residents aged 16 and over hold a degree-level qualification, about 7% have no qualifications and about 1% are full-time students. With that many graduates, any letter to the council about a planning application is likely to be long and well argued.
At the 2021 Census about 90% of residents described their health as good or very good. Richmond upon Thames, the wider borough, has a preventable mortality rate better than England's, and its adult smoking rate, about 9%, is similar to the England average. Those are borough figures compared with England, not a measure of any one Mortlake street.
Mortlake is a settled, prosperous and highly educated place, made up mostly of owner-occupier families and established professionals. The people are one of the area's clearest strengths, and they also explain why the houses cost so much.