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Croydon

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office
Natasha Irons
Natasha IronsLabour · Croydon East

4 MPs cover constituencies in or overlapping Croydon.

1,008 people on asylum support in Croydon

Rank 22 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 24.58 per 10,000 puts Croydon in the 87th percentile. That means this area carries more than most. 41 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. 557 in contingency accommodation (hotels, not housing). Accommodation and support for 1,008 people at £107 per person per day is about £39.4M a year.

What asylum costs Croydon

£22.8Mestimated hotel costs/year
£2.6Msubsistence payments/year
£1.2MLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 1,008 people on asylum support in Croydon(1.08% of 93,293 nationally at 30 Jun 2026). Hotel costs pro-rated from £5.77M/day national spend in 2024/25 (House of Commons Library, CDP-2025-0184). Subsistence: £49.18/week per person.

Croydon: asylum numbers still rising

Quarter-end stock series to Dec 2025. A rise or fall is a net change in the number of people on support at period end, not the number of new claims or distinct people moving through the caseload. Support stock also overlaps with, but is not identical to, the awaiting-decision backlog.

1,483
1,7931,1955980Mar 2014Dec 2025Peak Mar 2023Rwanda schemeAlbania dealBibby StockholmRwanda scrapped
Exact values
PeriodValue
Mar 2014156
Jun 2014153
Sept 2014155
Dec 2014158
Mar 2015166
Jun 2015162
Sept 2015157
Dec 2015141
Mar 2016149
Jun 2016149
Sept 2016124
Dec 2016134
Mar 2017115
Jun 2017124
Sept 2017141
Dec 2017136
Mar 2018157
Jun 2018152
Sept 2018189
Dec 2018182
Mar 2019196
Jun 2019205
Sept 2019262
Dec 2019234
Mar 2020271
Jun 2020352
Sept 2020486
Dec 2020419
Mar 2021360
Jun 2021805
Sept 2021779
Dec 20211,126
Mar 2022780
Jun 20221,110
Sept 2022990
Dec 20221,763
Mar 20231,793
Jun 20231,551
Sept 20231,334
Dec 20231,244
Mar 20241,133
Jun 20241,184
Sept 20241,096
Dec 20241,260
Mar 20251,173
Jun 20251,001
Sept 20251,270
Dec 20251,483

Trend

+213Latest quarter change
+1,327Change across series
48Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation140
Initial accommodation270
Subsistence only41
Contingency accommodation557

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
1,008
Homes for Ukraine
1,213
Afghan programme
31
Resettlement cumulative
5

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine1,213
Afghan programme31
Resettlement cumulative5

Population context

All pathways total2,252
Share of local population0.55%

Ethnic composition projection

Croydon: White British 37.4% (2021) to 14.4% (2051). 80% CI: 13.7, 16%.

Ethnic composition: Croydon

013263952% of populationCensus 2021IllustrativeWhite British 10% in 2061White Other 14% in 2061Asian 19% in 2061Black 26% in 2061Mixed 16% in 2061Other 16% in 206120112021203120412051
White BritishWhite OtherAsianBlackMixedOther 80% CI

Each line shows one ethnic group's share of the local population. The shaded band is the 80% confidence range. Values after 2051 are illustrative only.

Ethnic composition: Croydon

Census 2011, Census 2021, then Hamilton-Perry projections to 2051. Percentages.

2011
47%
16%
24%
2021
37%
11%
18%
23%
2031proj
29%
13%
18%
25%
9%
2041proj
21%
14%
19%
26%
11%
9%
2051proj
14%
14%
19%
27%
13%
12%
2061proj
10%
14%
19%
26%
16%
16%
White BritishWhite OtherAsianBlackMixedOther
Model: Hamilton-Perry single-year CCRs, 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations, SNPP-constrained

Census 2011 to 2021 cohort change ratios. Shaded band = 80% confidence interval from stochastic perturbation. Not a forecast.

Scenario explorer

Under different assumptions, White British share in Croydon ranges from23.4% to 25.8%by 2051. That is a 2.5pp spread.

Fertility
Low~108k/yr
Principal~315k/yr
High~476k/yr
ConstantRates stay at current levels
Half convergenceMove halfway to national avg
Full convergenceConverge to national avg
Migration
Central scenario: WBI 24.4% by 2051

Religion projection

Muslim 11.2% (2021) → 18.5% (2051). Christian 52.5% → 26.7%.

Religion: Croydon

014294357%Census 2021Christian 27% in 2051No religion 47% in 2051Muslim 19% in 2051Hindu 5% in 20512021203120412051
ChristianNo religionMuslimHindu

Religious affiliation projected from Census 2021 self-identification. Trends reflect demographic change in the existing population, not religious conversion.

Nativity

34.9% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: highly diverse (entropy 0.88). 84% main language English.

UK-born vs foreign-born: Croydon

2437506376%Census 2021UK-born 29% in 2051Foreign-born 71% in 20512021203120412051
UK-bornForeign-born

Share of the local population born outside the UK. Movement reflects both new arrivals and the UK-born children of existing residents reaching adulthood.

high immigration gateway: High foreign-born share means ethnic change is migration-driven. Future projections are sensitive to immigration policy.

Census 2021 mobility: 8.5% moved within UK, 0.9% arrived from abroad
white other12.1% internal, 1.7% international
other10% internal, 2% international
mixed9.9% internal, 0.6% international
asian8.5% internal, 1.8% international
black8.6% internal, 0.8% international
white british6.9% internal, 0.3% international

Why Croydon is changing

-9.8pp
National trend
-6.4pp
Age structure
+2.6pp
Local migration
-6.1pp

White British change 2011-2021. Cyan = decline. Amber = growth.

Dominant driver: national trend. Shift-share methodology following Franklin (2014).

Full demographic profileSchool pressure, housing demand, service demand scoring, economic profile, language projections, and more on UK Demographics.View Croydon on UK Demographics →