Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0

50.3Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021 & mid-year estimates

Deal is older than 86% of UK towns: a median age of 50.3

With one-person households at 35%, Deal is ahead of 88% of UK towns on that count. The town had 28,992 residents in 13,442 households at the 2021 Census. Households in terraced houses: 32% of the total. Fewer households in detached houses than in 83% of UK towns: 16%.

+2%people since 2011 28%aged 65 or over 6.1%born abroad 13,442households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Deal’s people

50.3median age, older than 86% of UK towns

Older than most towns

Half of Deal’s residents are under 50.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 28% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. 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.

Population since 2011

Deal changed by +2% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 75% of UK towns

ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Deal’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.

People, mid-2011 = 100

DealEnglandAll of Kent

Change by age, 2011 to 2024

DealEngland

0 to 15−1%

16 to 29−18%

30 to 44−3%

45 to 64−4%

65 and over+28%

About 30,100 people in 2011; 30,700 in 2024.

The biggest one-year rise was mid-2015 to mid-2016, 320 people. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+28%) and 16 to 29 least (−18%).

Ages

In Deal, 28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 85% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

DealEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

8.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24 (England’s towns: 12%). For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents.

Median age of UK towns of 2,500+

2535455565

■ Deal, 50.3. The typical town is 44.4.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1515%

15 to 248.8%

25 to 4421%

45 to 6428%

65 and over28%

DealKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

52% women, 48% men

Deal

England

WomenMen

About 91 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.

Students & newcomers

Full-time students: 4%, a lower share than 85% 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

Full-time students4%

Higher managerial and professional9.5%

Lower managerial and professional22%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed13%

Supervisory and technical6.6%

Semi-routine14%

Routine11%

Never worked or long-term unemployed8.6%

DealKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Deal

8.9%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

2,509

residents, 8.7%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.3× England’s share

Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Deal has 31% and 25%. 8.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

Households with dependent children: 22%, a lower share than 89% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 20%Living alone, under 66 16%Families with dependent children 22%Couples and families, no young children 40%Shared houses and other 2.8%

Against Kent’s towns and England’s towns

Deal

Kent’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person35%

2 people36%

3 people14%

4 people9.7%

5 or more4.1%

England’s towns.

In Deal the average household is 2.1 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. On shared households of unrelated adults, Deal sits higher than 69% of UK towns: 2.8%. The benchmark for households with dependent children across England’s towns: 29%.

Homes & cars

18% of households live in a flat or apartment, a share 79% of UK towns don’t reach

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Deal

Kent’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van22%

One46%

Two24%

Three or more7.8%

DealKent’s townsEngland’s towns

In Deal, 22% of households have no car or van, beside 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%.

Where people were born

Residents whose main language is English make up 98% in Deal, more than in 67% 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%

Deal

6.1%

Kent’s towns

13%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

DealEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language98%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.4%

Another main language, little or no English0.2%

DealKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Since 2017: 9.3% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 90% of residents have English as their main language. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%). Deal has fewer residents born outside the UK than 52% of UK towns, at 6.1%.

Ethnicity & religion

A larger share of residents with no religion than 70% of UK towns: 44%

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

DealKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White3.2%

Asian1.2%

Mixed1.2%

Black0.3%

Other0.4%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 94% of Deal · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

DealKent’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion44%

Christian49%

Muslim0.3%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.8%

Other religion0.6%

Didn’t answer5.3%

0%30%60%

The share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 94%, against 73% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Here, 49% of residents describe themselves as Christian.

Relationships & caring

In Deal, 11% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 80% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership32%

Married or civil partnership45%

Separated2.6%

Divorced12%

Widowed8.9%

DealKent’s townsEngland’s towns

2,947residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 11%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.1%

20 to 49 hours1.9%

50 hours or more3.7%

32% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners account for 45%.

Qualifications

27% of adults are qualified to degree level

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications20%

Apprenticeship5.9%

A levels or similar18%

Degree level27%

DealKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Deal’s adults: 27% with a degree-level qualification and 20% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.

Where in Deal

From a median age of 41 in Mill Hill, Upper Deal & Northbourne to 62 in Kingsdown & St Margaret's-at-Cliffe

The town’s 5 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.

Median age 35 → 65 · line = all DealAdults who are full-time students

Mill Hill, Upper Deal & Northbourne414.4%

Walmer494.3%

Deal North & West524.2%

Deal East553.1%

Kingsdown & St Margaret's-at-Cliffe623.3%

Kingsdown & St Margaret's-at-Cliffe is the oldest area, with 44% aged 65 or over; Mill Hill, Upper Deal & Northbourne the youngest (median age 41). Families with children are most common in Mill Hill, Upper Deal & Northbourne (31% of households).

Towns its size

11th oldest of 240 UK towns of 20,000 to 39,000 people

Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.

Deal 50.3

EghamRustingtonLong Eaton

304458

Egham is the youngest (31.1); Rustington the oldest (56.2). Nearest to Deal in age: Herne Bay (49.9), Stourport-on-Severn (50.2), Exmouth (50.3) and Broadstairs (50.4).

Neighbours

Deal and its 7 nearest towns: 5 of them are older

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

KingsdownEastrySt Margaret's at CliffeSandwichEythorneWhitfieldGustonDeal

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Deal	28,992	—	50.3	28%	22%
Kingsdown	1,687	2.2 mi	60.8	41%	17%
Eastry	2,388	4.3 mi	51	28%	24%
St Margaret's at Cliffe	2,399	4.4 mi	57	36%	18%
Sandwich	4,258	4.6 mi	54	33%	19%
Eythorne	1,487	5.4 mi	51.6	25%	22%
Whitfield	6,509	5.8 mi	44.7	24%	28%
Guston	1,684	6 mi	25.5	6.9%	49%

More about Deal’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health CLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute CIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living C⁺Owners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools DEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Deal’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. Deal’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 30,459 people in 2021, against 28,992 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 Deal’s residents

What is the population of Deal?

The 2021 Census counted 28,992 people in Deal’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 30,700 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.

What is the average age in Deal?

The median age was 50.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 86% of UK towns. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Deal?

94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 6.1% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Deal?

44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.

Is Deal good for families?

22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Mill Hill, Upper Deal & Northbourne (31% of households). Schools are on Deal’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.