Photo: Marathon · CC BY-SA 2.0Biddenden sits below 85% of UK towns for one-person households (25%)
One in ten households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%). Biddenden is home to 1,345 residents in 561 households, by the 2021 Census. For Biddenden, the census puts households with dependent children at 31%. At 44%, the share of residents with no religion is higher than in 71% of UK towns.
Half of Biddenden is under 44.1, younger than 53% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 9.9%, against 12% across England’s towns. More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 8.4% of residents. Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 52% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Biddenden ranks above 66% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.2%
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, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Biddenden has 36% and 23%. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Here, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 81% of UK towns: 2.4 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.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults tops 58% of UK towns: 2.5%.
Households in flats: 7.7%, a lower share than 68% of UK towns
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
Against a figure of 21% across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in Biddenden comes in at 31%. Here, 22% of households live in a terraced house. As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Biddenden sits above 79% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.9%). 6.3% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 50% of UK towns. On average, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
93% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 57% 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: 93% of Biddenden · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 49%, against 46% across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (3.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Chinese (0.7%). Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%.
A lower share of unpaid carers than 89% of UK towns, at 7.7%
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
Here 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 39%. Biddenden has more married adults and civil partners than 60% of UK towns, at 50%. The wider picture: nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 28%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Biddenden’s adults: 28% with a degree-level qualification and 16% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Biddenden sits below 6 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biddenden | 1,345 | — | 44.1 | 21% | 31% |
| Tenterden | 7,775 | 3.7 mi | 54.4 | 35% | 20% |
| Headcorn | 3,293 | 3.8 mi | 45.2 | 25% | 29% |
| Benenden | 1,409 | 4.2 mi | 29.7 | 18% | 25% |
| Cranbrook | 3,962 | 4.7 mi | 45.3 | 24% | 26% |
| Bethersden | 1,008 | 5 mi | 50.8 | 28% | 24% |
| Staplehurst | 6,181 | 5.2 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 31% |
| Woodchurch | 1,201 | 6.6 mi | 56.8 | 39% | 22% |
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 Biddenden’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 Biddenden’s residents
What is the population of Biddenden?
The 2021 Census counted 1,345 people in Biddenden’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Biddenden?
The median age was 44.1 at the 2021 Census. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Biddenden?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Biddenden?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Biddenden good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Biddenden’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.