Mostly settled homeowners who finished moving house some time ago. Eight in ten own their home. The typical resident is nearer fifty than forty. Nearly half hold a degree. It's the place people end up once they've finished climbing the housing ladder, not somewhere they start.
The Census is the source for every population figure here, and tenure comes first. About 80% of households own their home. Private renters make up about 9% and social renters about 10%. Social housing outnumbers the private rental market here, which surprises people who assume a village this comfortable must be all owners and a handful of landlords.
The median age is 49. About 18% of residents are aged 25 to 44. That's the age when most people are renting or buying a first flat, and Sonning Common has few of either to offer. The young adults who grew up here mostly have to leave to get started, and anyone coming back is usually further along.
The Office for National Statistics models median gross household income, before tax, at about £77,600 for the financial year to March 2023. It's a modelled average across the area, not a pay slip, and it's three years old. It still points to households with two decent incomes or one very good one.
The household mix is broader than the stereotype of retired couples in bungalows. About 23% of households are couples with children and about 9% are lone parents. About 23% are one person living alone, and within that, about 14% of all households are a single pensioner living alone. That last group is the one to remember before assuming everyone here has someone to drive them to appointments.
On qualifications, about 46% of adults hold a degree and about 11% have no formal qualifications. Full-time students are about 1%, which is what you'd expect in a village with no university and very little to rent.
Seventy-three people live in communal settings such as care homes rather than private households. That's too few to change how any of the other shares should be read.
The community is one of Sonning Common's real strengths: owners who stay, households that are comfortably off, and a population that looks after its own. Getting in is hard, because a village made of owners doesn't leave many homes for anyone starting out.