Photo: Nigel Thompson · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 24% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Bearsted
Half of Bearsted’s residents are over 48.8, older than in nearly four in five UK towns. At the 2021 Census Bearsted was home to 8,349 people in 3,415 households. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian stands at 57%. Households in flats: 3.7%, below 90% of UK towns.
Since 2011, Bearsted has changed by +2%, slower than 76% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bearsted’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,200 people in 2011; 8,400 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+24%), the 30 to 44 group the smallest (−19%). In one year, mid-2014 to mid-2015, the population rose by 140, the most of any year.
28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 84% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 84% of UK towns: 8.6%. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bearsted, 48.8. 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.
A smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 78% 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%.
4.8% of adults are full-time students (England’s towns: 7.9%). By way of comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
24% of households are one person living alone, below 90% 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 in Bearsted hold 2.4 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). Across Bearsted, 29% of households have dependent children. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 52% of UK towns. The comparison figure for one-person households is 30% across England’s towns.
Only 8.8% of households have no car or van in Bearsted
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
14% of households live in a terraced house; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. Census figures put households in detached houses at 39% in Bearsted.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 60% of UK towns: 98%
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.9%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%). Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Bearsted has more residents born outside the UK than 56% of UK towns, at 7%. Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 8.6%.
Bearsted sits below 80% of UK towns for residents with no religion (35%)
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 Bearsted · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (3.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (1%). Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than in 54% of UK towns: 92%. As a reference point, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
58% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 96% of UK towns don’t reach
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
183 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 9%, fewer than in nearly three fifths of UK towns.
34% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Bearsted’s adults: 34% with a degree-level qualification and 15% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
86th highest median age among 424 UK towns of 6,000 to 11,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tidworth (28.4) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Bearsted in age: Burnham-on-Crouch (48.7), Bishop's Waltham (48.7), East Boldon and West Boldon (48.9) and Romiley (49).
A younger town than 1 of the 7 around it: Bearsted
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bearsted | 8,349 | — | 48.8 | 28% | 29% |
| Maidstone | 109,503 | 2.1 mi | 38.5 | 16% | 32% |
| Kingswood | 1,371 | 3.8 mi | 53.4 | 30% | 23% |
| Sutton Valence | 1,457 | 3.9 mi | 45.8 | 21% | 28% |
| Coxheath | 8,453 | 4 mi | 44.3 | 23% | 29% |
| Lenham and Harrietsham | 4,763 | 5.2 mi | 43.5 | 24% | 29% |
| Eccles | 1,706 | 5.3 mi | 39.4 | 16% | 31% |
| Burham | 1,293 | 5.6 mi | 48.8 | 24% | 23% |
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 Bearsted’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. Bearsted’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 8,349 people in 2021, against 8,349 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 Bearsted’s residents
What is the population of Bearsted?
The 2021 Census counted 8,349 people in Bearsted’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 8,400 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bearsted?
The median age was 48.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 79% of UK towns. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bearsted?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bearsted?
35% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Bearsted good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bearsted’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.