Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 36.6: Dartford is younger than 93% of UK towns
Compared with 21% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten households live in a detached house here. Just over a quarter of households are one person living alone. Households in flats are more common here than in 91% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 69,131 residents in 26,570 households.
What the Census says about Dartford’s people
A town of families
38% of Dartford’s 26,570 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 97% of UK towns. 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
More born abroad than most towns
23% 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 the Middle East and Asia (7.6%) and in EU countries (6.7%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
38% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 96% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are African (9.9%), Other White (7.7%) and Indian (5.1%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Dartford’s residents are under 36.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 10% are 15 to 24 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
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.
Dartford grew +27% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 92% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Dartford’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 58,000 people in 2011; 73,900 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2016 to mid-2017, 1,960 people. Change by age ran from +40% for the 30 to 44 to +4% for the 16 to 29.
Below 95% of UK towns: 12% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 10%, against 12% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. 30–34 is the most common age band: 8.4% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Dartford, 36.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Dartford ranks above 87% of UK towns on full-time students: 6.3%
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 Dartford, 34% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 23% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns. The census found that nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier locally.
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 38% in Dartford, more than in 97% 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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Dartford, 2.6. Households with dependent children make up 29% across England’s towns. In Dartford, 3.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
A larger share of households in terraced houses than 90% of UK towns: 35%
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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, a fifth of households have no car or van in Dartford.
Dartford ranks above 95% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 23%
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
Where nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, Dartford has 89%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (7.6%) and in EU countries (6.7%). Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 96% of UK towns: 62%
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: 62% of Dartford · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion trails just over four fifths of UK towns: 35%. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 47%, fewer than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. Set beside that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. The Muslim share of residents is 4.4%.
Unpaid carers make up 7.6% in Dartford, less than in 90% 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
Married adults and civil partners: 46% here and 44% across England’s towns. On the census count, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Set beside that, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
33% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Dartford’s adults: 33% with a degree-level qualification and 16% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. For 16%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 32 in Temple Hill & Marshes to 46 in Wilmington & Hawley
The town’s 9 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Wilmington & Hawley is the oldest area, with 24% aged 65 or over; Temple Hill & Marshes the youngest (median age 32). Families with children are most common in Temple Hill & Marshes (47% of households).
Among 106 UK towns of 48,000 to 93,000 people, the 15th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 27.5 in Canterbury to 51.7 in Christchurch. Nearest to Dartford in age: Dudley (36.4), Aylesbury (36.4), Corby (37) and Ashford (37.2).
Dartford sits below 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartford | 69,131 | — | 36.6 | 12% | 38% |
| Hawley | 1,386 | 1.7 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 31% |
| Stone | 6,438 | 2.1 mi | 35.7 | 8.5% | 34% |
| Darenth | 2,588 | 2.2 mi | 37.6 | 15% | 35% |
| Joyden's Wood | 4,912 | 2.7 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 27% |
| Hextable | 4,100 | 2.8 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 26% |
| Purfleet-on-Thames | 5,881 | 2.8 mi | 32.7 | 5.1% | 41% |
| Bean | 1,633 | 3 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 30% |
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 Dartford’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. Dartford’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 70,079 people in 2021, against 69,131 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 Dartford’s residents
What is the population of Dartford?
The 2021 Census counted 69,131 people in Dartford’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 73,900 people in mid-2024, 27% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Dartford?
The median age was 36.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 93% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dartford?
62% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 23% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dartford?
35% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 4.4% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Dartford good for families?
38% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Temple Hill & Marshes (47% of households). Schools are on Dartford’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.