Photo: Jo and Steve Turner · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns, at 6.7%
Households with dependent children are rarer here than in 78% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 823 people lived in Chilham, in 355 households. In Chilham, just over one in ten households have no car or van. By its share of households in flats (3.6%), Chilham is below 90% of UK towns.
Chilham ranks above 87% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 29%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With a median age of 48.7, Chilham is older than 78% of UK towns. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In St Mary's Bay, the oldest of Kent’s towns by this measure, it is 42%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 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.
Full-time students: 3.9%, a lower share than 88% of UK towns
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%.
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 9.8% in Chilham and 11% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
A smaller share of one-person households than 71% of UK towns: 27%
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.8% here and 4.3% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, one-person households come to 30%. On average, 2.3 people share a household.
43% of households live in a detached house, more than in 81% 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
22% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%.
More residents born abroad than 78% of UK towns: 11% in Chilham
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (4%), then in the Middle East and Asia (2.9%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are scarce here: 96%, fewer than in 69% of UK towns. On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 56%, a higher share than 84% 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: 87% of Chilham · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 87% of residents describe themselves as White British, where the figure across England’s towns is 73%. Census figures put residents with no religion at 36% in Chilham. Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Only 28% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Chilham
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
53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. Census figures put unpaid carers at 10% in Chilham. The usual figure: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
42% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 42% of adults in Chilham (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 18% (England’s towns: 18%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Chilham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chilham | 823 | — | 48.7 | 29% | 24% |
| Chartham | 3,569 | 1.8 mi | 37.6 | 13% | 37% |
| Boughton under Blean | 2,274 | 3.4 mi | 46.1 | 23% | 28% |
| Rough Common | 1,291 | 4.4 mi | 42.5 | 24% | 27% |
| Challock | 1,089 | 4.8 mi | 46.1 | 22% | 31% |
| Wye | 2,064 | 4.8 mi | 49.1 | 29% | 25% |
| Canterbury | 55,107 | 5 mi | 27.5 | 13% | 24% |
| Blean | 1,327 | 5.1 mi | 52.3 | 32% | 22% |
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 Chilham’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 Chilham’s residents
What is the population of Chilham?
The 2021 Census counted 823 people in Chilham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Chilham?
The median age was 48.7 at the 2021 Census. 6.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Chilham?
87% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Chilham?
36% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Chilham good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Chilham’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.