Netley is lived in by people who have stopped moving house. Two in three households own their home. The typical resident is closer to fifty than forty. A third of homes hold one person. It is a village of people who arrived, unpacked and saw no reason to leave.
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census, apart from income. Of Netley's 6,565 residents, about 66% of households own their home, about 15% rent privately and about 18% rent from a council or housing association. So social renting is more common here than private renting, which is not the usual picture in a waterside village and says something about how the place was built. The buy-to-let crowd, for once, is not in charge.
The median age is 47, and people aged 25 to 44 make up about 23% of residents. Estate agents who list Netley as a spot for young professionals are describing a group that exists but is outnumbered by the people already paid off. The age profile belongs to people who have settled, not people passing through.
Modelled household income averaged about £60,000 before tax in the financial year to March 2023. That is a gross figure for a period now some years back, and it should be read as the level of comfort at that time rather than today's pay. It is enough to explain why most of the village owns rather than rents.
The household mix is broader than the age suggests. About 33% of households are one person living alone, and about 17% of households are a single pensioner, a group that sits inside that one-person figure rather than on top of it. Couples with dependent children make up about 18% of households, and lone parents about 9%. Families are here, but they are not the majority, and the quiet streets reflect that.
On qualifications, about 30% of residents hold a degree, about 17% have no formal qualifications, and only about 1% are full-time students. That is a working village, not a university town and not a commuter enclave full of consultants. Graduates and people who went straight into work live on the same streets.
Around 141 people live in communal settings such as care homes rather than private households. That is too few to change how the other figures should be read.
The population is one of Netley's strengths: settled, mostly owner-occupiers and comfortably off. It suits buyers who want neighbours still there in ten years, and less so anyone hoping the street will fill up with people their own age.