Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0A smaller share of one-person households than 97% of UK towns: 21%
73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, against 84% in Bean. At the same time, the village has more households in terraced houses than 89% of UK towns, at 34%. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 1,633, in 637 households. Census figures put households in detached houses at 16% here.
A median age of 41.9: Bean is younger than 70% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24 (England’s towns: 12%). No age band is larger than 50–54: 7.8% of residents. Bean has fewer residents aged 65 and over than 56% of UK towns, at 21%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 79% of UK towns: 7.4%
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%.
By its share of full-time students (5.2%), Bean is above 64% of UK towns. As a yardstick, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 93% of UK towns: 2.5 people on average
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.
Families with dependent children are 30% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 10% are someone 66 or over living alone (Kent’s towns 13%). Shared households of unrelated adults: 3.1% of the total.
Bean ranks below 76% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 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 flats is 7.5% in Bean and 23% across England’s towns. Households without a car or van make up 24% across England’s towns.
More residents born abroad than 65% of UK towns: 8.2% in Bean
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in Africa (2.8%). Residents born outside the UK: 18% across England’s towns, for comparison. Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 98% here, more than in just over half of UK towns. Just over a tenth of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns.
Bean sits above 58% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (51%)
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: 84% of Bean · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The Muslim share of residents is 1.7%. Few places have so few residents with no religion: 41% here, fewer than in 53% of UK towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%.
In Bean, 50% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 62% of UK towns
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, 9.9% of residents give unpaid care in Bean. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. 60 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week.
22% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Bean counts 22% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 22% have no qualification (18%).
Nearby, 1 of 7 towns have older populations than Bean
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bean | 1,633 | — | 41.9 | 21% | 30% |
| Ebbsfleet Valley | 2,989 | 1.1 mi | 30.5 | 1.5% | 49% |
| Stone | 6,438 | 1.3 mi | 35.7 | 8.5% | 34% |
| Darenth | 2,588 | 1.5 mi | 37.6 | 15% | 35% |
| Swanscombe | 15,462 | 1.5 mi | 35.4 | 11% | 36% |
| South Darenth and Sutton at Hone | 4,091 | 2.5 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 29% |
| Northfleet | 29,892 | 2.6 mi | 36 | 13% | 37% |
| Hawley | 1,386 | 2.8 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 31% |
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 Bean’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 Bean’s residents
What is the population of Bean?
The 2021 Census counted 1,633 people in Bean’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bean?
The median age was 41.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bean?
84% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 8.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bean?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.7% were Muslim and 4.4% didn’t answer.
Is Bean good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bean’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.