Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in flats make up 4.2% in Ash (Dover), less than in 87% of UK towns
With a median age of 48.4, Ash (Dover) is older than 76% of UK towns. The town had 2,529 residents in 1,051 households at the 2021 Census. The census found that a quarter of households are one person living alone in the town. Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; locally, 2.4.
Ash (Dover) ranks above 70% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 25%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.4%, below 63% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The largest age band is 50–54: nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ash (Dover), 48.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Ash (Dover) sits above 56% of UK towns for full-time students (5%)
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Ash (Dover), 34% and 22%. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Locally, 8.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, more than in 72% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Kent’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Households with dependent children make up 26%, against 29% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 73% of UK towns, at 11%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
The figure for households in terraced houses is 23% in Ash (Dover) and 24% across England’s towns. Every 9th household or so has no car or van. Locally, a third of households live in a detached house.
Ash (Dover) sits above 78% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns, against 5.9% in Ash (Dover). Measured more widely, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 52%, a higher share than 63% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 92% of Ash (Dover) · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion make up 39%, against 37% across England’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and Indian (1.4%). At 92%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is lower than in just over half of UK towns. Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 84% of UK towns: 11% of residents
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 84 people. Across the comparison, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Ash (Dover) has more married adults and civil partners than 73% of UK towns, at 52%. 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership (England’s towns: 39%).
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 32%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Ash (Dover), 32% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 17% have no qualification at all (18%).
79th highest median age among 219 UK towns of 2,500 to 3,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 20.6 in Keele to 60.8 in St Mary's Bay. Nearest to Ash (Dover) in age: Porthmadog (48.3), Harbury (48.4), Ambleside (48.5) and Aston (48.6).
Older than Ash (Dover): 6 of the 7 towns nearby
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash (Dover) | 2,529 | — | 48.4 | 25% | 26% |
| Sandwich | 4,258 | 2.5 mi | 54 | 33% | 19% |
| Eastry | 2,388 | 2.5 mi | 51 | 28% | 24% |
| Wingham | 1,313 | 2.8 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 25% |
| Minster (Thanet) | 4,739 | 4.6 mi | 49 | 27% | 25% |
| Aylesham | 5,788 | 4.9 mi | 33.2 | 12% | 40% |
| Littlebourne | 1,596 | 4.9 mi | 49.4 | 28% | 26% |
| Cliffs End | 1,284 | 5.1 mi | 52.6 | 31% | 24% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Kent’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Kent (or England), summed the same way as Ash (Dover)’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Ash (Dover)’s residents
What is the population of Ash (Dover)?
The 2021 Census counted 2,529 people in Ash (Dover)’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ash (Dover)?
The median age was 48.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 76% of UK towns. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ash (Dover)?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 5.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ash (Dover)?
39% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Ash (Dover) good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ash (Dover)’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.