Photo: Elisa.rolle · CC BY-SA 4.0Older than 91% of UK towns: half of Fordcombe is over 51.6
1.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home (England’s towns: 4.3%). The census found that 3.6% of households live in a flat or apartment in Fordcombe. At 40%, the share of households in detached houses is higher than in three quarters of UK towns. There were 250 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 570 residents.
Above 93% of UK towns: 31% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.1%, below 70% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 5.4%, a higher share than 71% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in two in five adults here, routine and semi-routine work 16% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). More residents who moved in within the year than in three fifths of UK towns: 9.2%. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
More one-person households than 74% of UK towns: 33%
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.
27% of households have dependent children; across England’s towns the figure is 29%. Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Households without a car or van: 10%, a lower share than 82% 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
Households in terraced houses: 16%, below 69% of UK towns. The usual figure: 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
100% of residents have English as their main language, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
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 the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.2%), then in Africa (1.1%). Typically, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Fordcombe has fewer residents born outside the UK than 75% of UK towns, at 4.2%.
Fordcombe: 54% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 73% 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: 94% of Fordcombe · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Fordcombe, 39% of residents said they have no religion, beside 37% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British stands at 94%.
Fordcombe ranks below 82% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 27%
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 17. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 61% of UK towns. 8.8% of residents give unpaid care, about the same as across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 38% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 38% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 18% hold no qualification (18%).
Fordcombe is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fordcombe | 570 | — | 51.6 | 31% | 27% |
| Groombridge | 1,077 | 2 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 29% |
| Rusthall and Langton Green | 7,783 | 2.1 mi | 45.1 | 23% | 32% |
| Southborough | 9,632 | 3.6 mi | 41.9 | 17% | 33% |
| Royal Tunbridge Wells | 51,215 | 3.8 mi | 40.1 | 16% | 30% |
| Leigh | 1,104 | 4.1 mi | 48.2 | 24% | 30% |
| Hildenborough | 4,943 | 5.7 mi | 47.5 | 24% | 33% |
| Tonbridge | 36,136 | 5.9 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 31% |
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 Fordcombe’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 Fordcombe’s residents
What is the population of Fordcombe?
The 2021 Census counted 570 people in Fordcombe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Fordcombe?
The median age was 51.6 at the 2021 Census. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Fordcombe?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Fordcombe?
39% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Fordcombe good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Fordcombe’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.