Photo: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 99% of UK towns: half of Canterbury is under 27.5
In Canterbury, 67% of residents describe themselves as White British, beside 73% across England’s towns. The town’s 19,827 households held 55,107 residents at the 2021 Census. For Canterbury, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 15%. Households in detached houses are rarer here than in 85% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Canterbury’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 16,463 full-time students aged 16 and over, 35% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 33% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Canterbury’s residents are under 27.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 33% are 15 to 24 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More born abroad than most towns
24% of residents were born outside the UK, against 13% across Kent’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (10%) and in the Middle East and Asia (6.6%). Where people were born ↓
A town people move to
26% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 2.4 times the share across England’s towns, and 7% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
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.
Faster growth than 62% of UK towns: Canterbury changed by +10% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Canterbury’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 52,500 people in 2011; 57,900 in 2024.
Mid-2021 to mid-2022 brought the biggest yearly rise, 1,440 people. Growth was strongest among the 30 to 44 (+43%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−10%).
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 33% in Canterbury, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With residents aged 65 and over at 13%, Canterbury is behind 94% of UK towns on that count. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Canterbury, 27.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
35% of adults are full-time students, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
Set against 11% across England’s towns, just over a quarter of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Canterbury. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children make up 24% in Canterbury, less than in 80% 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 Canterbury hold 2.4 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). Census figures put one-person households at 31% locally. Typically, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Above 97% of UK towns: 33% of households have no car or van
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
23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, against 30% in Canterbury. Households in terraced houses account for 25%. Elsewhere, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Canterbury ranks above 96% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 24%
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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (10%) and in the Middle East and Asia (6.6%). The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. Lower than in 94% of UK towns: 88% of residents have English as their main language. Since 2017: 35% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than 93% of UK towns: 40%
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: 67% of Canterbury · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
4% of residents said their religion is Muslim. At 43%, the share of residents with no religion is higher than in 65% of UK towns. Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
In Canterbury, 27% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 99% 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
Students and young renters account for much of that. Adults who have never married: three fifths of the total. 6.9% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 97% of UK towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 36%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 36% of Canterbury’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 12% have no qualification (18%). 31% have A levels as their highest qualification, many of them still studying for a degree.
From a median age of 20 in Blean Forest, Chartham Hatch & University to 47 in Thanington & Chartham
The town’s 8 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Thanington & Chartham is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Blean Forest, Chartham Hatch & University the youngest (median age 20). Students cluster in Blean Forest, Chartham Hatch & University, where 77% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Sturry and Fordwich (36% of households).
Ranked by age, 1st youngest of 122 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Canterbury (27.5) and the oldest Lytham St Anne's (54.4). Nearest to Canterbury in age: Hatfield (30.3) and Durham (31.4).
The towns around Canterbury are all older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury | 55,107 | — | 27.5 | 13% | 24% |
| Rough Common | 1,291 | 1.6 mi | 42.5 | 24% | 27% |
| Blean | 1,327 | 2.4 mi | 52.3 | 32% | 22% |
| Sturry | 4,857 | 2.4 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 27% |
| Bridge | 1,539 | 3.2 mi | 52.6 | 32% | 25% |
| Chartham | 3,569 | 3.5 mi | 37.6 | 13% | 37% |
| Littlebourne | 1,596 | 3.7 mi | 49.4 | 28% | 26% |
| Hersden | 2,118 | 4 mi | 34.5 | 13% | 40% |
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 Canterbury’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. Canterbury’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 55,435 people in 2021, against 55,107 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 Canterbury’s residents
What is the population of Canterbury?
The 2021 Census counted 55,107 people in Canterbury’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 57,900 people in mid-2024, 10% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Canterbury?
The median age was 27.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 99% of UK towns. 33% of residents were 15 to 24 and 13% were 65 or over.
Is Canterbury a student town?
Yes: 35% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (16,463 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In Blean Forest, Chartham Hatch & University, 77% of adults were students.
How diverse is Canterbury?
67% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 24% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Canterbury?
43% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 4% were Muslim and 8.7% didn’t answer.
Is Canterbury good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Sturry and Fordwich (36% of households). Schools are on Canterbury’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.