Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Aylesham is younger than 98% of UK towns: a median age of 33.2
The share of adults who have never married is 43%, against 39% across England’s towns. Aylesham’s 2,230 households held 5,788 residents at the 2021 Census. On the census count, just over a fifth of households are one person living alone. Few places have as many households in terraced houses: 30% here, more than in 83% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Aylesham’s people
A town of families
40% of Aylesham’s 2,230 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 98% of UK towns. 24% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Aylesham’s residents are under 33.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 10% are 15 to 24 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Aylesham at 3,500 in 2011 and 6,500 in 2024, up 87%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 99% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
More with no religion than most
48% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 45% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Growth of +87% since 2011 puts Aylesham ahead of 99% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Aylesham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,500 people in 2011; 6,500 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2019: 640 more people. Of the age groups, 30 to 44 changed most (+160%) and 65 and over least (+34%).
Aylesham sits below 96% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (12%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 30–34: 9.9% of residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 10%. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Aylesham, 33.2. 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.
Aylesham ranks above 80% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.8%
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%.
Compared with 11% across England’s towns, 9.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier here. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Aylesham ranks above 98% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 40%
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.9% here and 4.3% across England’s towns. Typically, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. The average household has 2.6 people.
Only 13% of households live in a detached house in Aylesham
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
Nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns, against 16% in Aylesham. On average, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. The share of households in flats stands at 11%.
95% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 79% of UK towns
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (5.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2%). More residents born outside the UK than in 72% of UK towns: 9.6%. Measured more widely, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Of residents born abroad, 17% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
48% of residents said they have no religion, a share 89% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 85% of Aylesham · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 45%, against 46% across England’s towns. 85% of residents describe themselves as White British. Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion.
Only 42% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Aylesham
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
Set against 8.7% across England’s towns, 10% of residents give unpaid care in Aylesham. Married adults and civil partners: 44% across England’s towns, for comparison. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 203 people.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 26% of adults in Aylesham (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 19% (England’s towns: 18%).
17th youngest of 624 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Aylesham in age: Shortstown (32.9), Cranfield (33.1), East Tilbury (33.8) and Hattersley (34).
Every neighbour of Aylesham has an older population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aylesham | 5,788 | — | 33.2 | 12% | 40% |
| Wingham | 1,313 | 3 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 25% |
| Sibertswold | 1,619 | 3.1 mi | 54.3 | 32% | 23% |
| Bridge | 1,539 | 3.5 mi | 52.6 | 32% | 25% |
| Eythorne | 1,487 | 3.6 mi | 51.6 | 25% | 22% |
| Littlebourne | 1,596 | 3.6 mi | 49.4 | 28% | 26% |
| Eastry | 2,388 | 4.7 mi | 51 | 28% | 24% |
| Ash (Dover) | 2,529 | 4.9 mi | 48.4 | 25% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Aylesham’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Aylesham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,805 people in 2021, against 5,788 in the built-up area.
- 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 Aylesham’s residents
What is the population of Aylesham?
The 2021 Census counted 5,788 people in Aylesham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,500 people in mid-2024, 87% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Aylesham?
The median age was 33.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 98% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Aylesham?
85% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 9.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Aylesham?
48% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Aylesham good for families?
40% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Aylesham’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.