Photo: Nick Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 99% of UK towns: half of Capel-le-Ferne is over 59.8
14% of households have dependent children; across England’s towns the figure is 29%. The 2021 Census counted 1,962 residents in 937 households. In Capel-le-Ferne, 3.6% of households live in a flat or apartment. The village has more households in detached houses than 85% of UK towns, at 45%.
What the Census says about Capel-le-Ferne’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Capel-le-Ferne’s residents are under 59.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 40% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
233 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 98% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
40% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
70–74 is the most common age band: just over one in ten residents, 2.5 times the share across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 7%. To put it in context, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns, at 2.7%
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%.
In Capel-le-Ferne, 29% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Lower than in 87% of UK towns: 6.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 96% of UK towns: 2.1 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.
2.8% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns. For Capel-le-Ferne, the census puts one-person households at 32%.
A lower share of households in terraced houses than 98% of UK towns, at 4.5%
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
Where nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns, Capel-le-Ferne has 12%.
Capel-le-Ferne: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 88% 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
By its share of residents born outside the UK (5.3%), Capel-le-Ferne is below just over three fifths of UK towns. The usual figure: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%).
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 87% of UK towns, at 57%
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: 94% of Capel-le-Ferne · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Indian (0.5%). Across the comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Capel-le-Ferne has more residents who describe themselves as White British than 70% of UK towns, at 94%. The figure for residents with no religion is 36% in Capel-le-Ferne and 37% across England’s towns.
21% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 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
By its share of unpaid carers (12%), Capel-le-Ferne is above 98% of UK towns. Higher than in 89% of UK towns: 55% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. On average, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
22% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
22% of Capel-le-Ferne’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 25% have none (18%).
The towns around Capel-le-Ferne are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capel-le-Ferne | 1,962 | — | 59.8 | 40% | 14% |
| Folkestone | 51,987 | 2.3 mi | 41.3 | 19% | 27% |
| Hawkinge | 8,499 | 2.4 mi | 41.1 | 18% | 37% |
| Dover | 36,349 | 4.1 mi | 40 | 18% | 28% |
| Whitfield | 6,509 | 5.2 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 28% |
| Guston | 1,684 | 5.4 mi | 25.5 | 6.9% | 49% |
| Lyminge | 1,918 | 5.9 mi | 55.1 | 37% | 21% |
| Sibertswold | 1,619 | 6 mi | 54.3 | 32% | 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 Capel-le-Ferne’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 Capel-le-Ferne’s residents
What is the population of Capel-le-Ferne?
The 2021 Census counted 1,962 people in Capel-le-Ferne’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Capel-le-Ferne?
The median age was 59.8 at the 2021 Census. 7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 40% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Capel-le-Ferne?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 5.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Capel-le-Ferne?
36% 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 Capel-le-Ferne good for families?
14% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Capel-le-Ferne’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.