Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0Gillingham sits above 94% of UK towns for households in terraced houses (40%)
By its share of residents who describe themselves as White British (78%), Gillingham is below 86% of UK towns. Locally, 15% of households live in a detached house. The median age in the city is 39.3, lower than in 84% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 108,485 residents here, living in 43,261 households.
Since 2011, Gillingham has grown +9%, faster than 59% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Gillingham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 105,700 people in 2011; 115,600 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+31%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−8%). Mid-2022 to mid-2023 brought the biggest yearly rise, 2,390 people.
A larger share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 93% of UK towns: 12%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
17% of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%). The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 7.1% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Gillingham, 39.3. 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.
A higher share of full-time students than 92% of UK towns, at 7.2%
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%.
Where just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, Gillingham has 10%. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Gillingham households average 2.5 people, larger than in 86% 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.
With one-person households at 27%, Gillingham is behind 70% of UK towns on that count. In Gillingham, 31% of households have dependent children. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 91% of UK towns.
More flats than 74% of UK towns: 16% of households in Gillingham
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
With households without a car or van at 20%, Gillingham is ahead of 71% of UK towns on that count. For comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
More residents born abroad than 85% of UK towns: 14% in Gillingham
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (4.3%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Lower than in 84% of UK towns: 93% of residents have English as their main language. A fifth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
In Gillingham, 42% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 60% 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: 78% of Gillingham · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (5.3%), African (3.8%) and Indian (2.9%). On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Gillingham sits lower than 77% of UK towns: 45%. Residents with no religion make up 37% across England’s towns.
Adults who have never married make up 37% in Gillingham, more than in 79% 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
8.5% of residents give unpaid care, about the same as across England’s towns. As a reference point, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Census figures put married adults and civil partners at 44% in Gillingham.
Degree-level qualifications reach 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Gillingham counts 26% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 18% have no qualification (18%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 19%.
From a median age of 31 in Gillingham North to 51 in Rainham South West
The city’s 16 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Rainham South West is the oldest area, with 28% aged 65 or over; Gillingham North the youngest (median age 31). Families with children are most common in Newington, Halstow & Upchurch (46% of households).
Ranked by age, 32nd oldest of 69 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Salford (29.8) and the oldest Southport (48.4). Nearest to Gillingham in age: Rugby (39.2), Chelmsford (39.3), Scunthorpe (39.5) and Worcester (39.5).
Nearby, 3 of 7 towns have older populations than Gillingham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillingham | 108,485 | — | 39.3 | 17% | 31% |
| Chatham | 76,956 | 2.1 mi | 37.6 | 15% | 34% |
| Upchurch | 1,727 | 3.1 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 25% |
| Rochester | 67,279 | 3.4 mi | 38.8 | 16% | 32% |
| Hoo St Werburgh | 8,758 | 3.5 mi | 40.5 | 20% | 31% |
| Chattenden | 2,417 | 3.7 mi | 34.1 | 11% | 43% |
| Lower Halstow | 1,210 | 4.1 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 26% |
| Newington | 2,691 | 4.3 mi | 39.1 | 19% | 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 Gillingham’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. Gillingham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 109,757 people in 2021, against 108,485 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 Gillingham’s residents
What is the population of Gillingham?
The 2021 Census counted 108,485 people in Gillingham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 115,600 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Gillingham?
The median age was 39.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 84% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Gillingham?
78% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 14% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Gillingham?
42% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Gillingham good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Newington, Halstow & Upchurch (46% of households). Schools are on Gillingham’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.