Photo: Nick Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Elham is over 57.4, older than 98% of UK towns
The share of households with dependent children trails 93% of UK towns: 21%. Census figures put married adults and civil partners at 58% in Elham. 56% of households live in a detached house, more than in 94% of UK towns. The village is home to 856 residents in 395 households, by the 2021 Census.
37% of Elham is 65 or over, a higher share than 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 6.3%, against 12% across England’s towns. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of full-time students than 57% of UK towns, at 4.7%
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%.
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 9.3% in Elham and 11% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 79% of UK towns: 2.2 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.
Where 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, Elham has 27%. The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 3.3%.
Below 83% of UK towns: 9.8% 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
7.1% of households live in a flat or apartment (England’s towns: 23%). Households in terraced houses are rarer here than in 72% of UK towns. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Above 77% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%). To put it in context, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 6.3% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 50% of UK towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 56%, a higher share than 83% 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: 95% of Elham · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, Elham has 95%. As a reference point, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. The share of residents with no religion stands at 36%.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 97% of UK towns, at 23%
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
One in ten residents give unpaid care. For adults who have never married, the comparison across England’s towns is 39%.
Among adults, 44% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Elham, 44% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 13% have no qualification at all (18%).
Around Elham, 1 of 7 towns have a higher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elham | 856 | — | 57.4 | 37% | 21% |
| Lyminge | 1,918 | 2.1 mi | 55.1 | 37% | 21% |
| Hawkinge | 8,499 | 3.5 mi | 41.1 | 18% | 37% |
| Folkestone | 51,987 | 5.3 mi | 41.3 | 19% | 27% |
| Capel-le-Ferne | 1,962 | 5.7 mi | 59.8 | 40% | 14% |
| Sibertswold | 1,619 | 5.8 mi | 54.3 | 32% | 23% |
| Hythe | 14,613 | 5.9 mi | 55.5 | 35% | 19% |
| Brabourne Lees | 1,479 | 6.2 mi | 51.2 | 29% | 24% |
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 Elham’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 Elham’s residents
What is the population of Elham?
The 2021 Census counted 856 people in Elham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Elham?
The median age was 57.4 at the 2021 Census. 6.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 37% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Elham?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Elham?
36% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Elham good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Elham’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.