Photo: Nick Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 99% of UK towns: half of Guston is under 25.5
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 51%, below 98% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 1,684 residents in 419 households. Census figures put households in terraced houses at 59% in Guston. Nearly one in ten households have no car or van, a lower share than in 89% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Guston’s people
A student village
The 2021 Census counted 217 full-time students aged 16 and over, 20% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 20% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
A village of families
49% of Guston’s 419 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 99% of UK towns. 30% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
More born abroad than most towns
33% 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 (24%) and in EU countries (4.8%). Where people were born ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Guston’s residents are under 25.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 20% are 15 to 24 and 6.9% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Guston sits below 99% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (6.9%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (20%), Guston is above 99% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A higher share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns, at 20%
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%.
Leave the students aside and Guston’s other adults look much like England’s: 34% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children: 49%, a higher share than 99% 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.
4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, against 2.2% in Guston. The usual figure: 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. For Guston, the census puts one-person households at 17%.
16% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 83% 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
Where 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Guston has 6.5%. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%.
Guston: 33% of residents were born outside the UK, above 98% 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 40%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents whose main language is English: 79% here and 90% across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (24%) and in EU countries (4.8%). Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK.
Only 25% of residents said they have no religion in Guston
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: 51% of Guston · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are African (5.8%), Mixed or multiple (3.6%) and Other White (3%). Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 96% of UK towns: 37%.
Below 98% of UK towns: 6.5% of residents give unpaid care
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
Compared with 39% across England’s towns, 36% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. Married adults and civil partners account for 53%. Across England’s towns, unpaid carers come to 8.7%.
A degree-level qualification for 21% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 21% of Guston’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 16% have no qualification (18%). A levels top the qualifications of 20%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
The towns around Guston are all older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guston | 1,684 | — | 25.5 | 6.9% | 49% |
| Dover | 36,349 | 1.3 mi | 40 | 18% | 28% |
| Whitfield | 6,509 | 1.7 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 28% |
| St Margaret's at Cliffe | 2,399 | 2.6 mi | 57 | 36% | 18% |
| Kingsdown | 1,687 | 4.5 mi | 60.8 | 41% | 17% |
| Eythorne | 1,487 | 4.7 mi | 51.6 | 25% | 22% |
| Sibertswold | 1,619 | 5 mi | 54.3 | 32% | 23% |
| Capel-le-Ferne | 1,962 | 5.4 mi | 59.8 | 40% | 14% |
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 Guston’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 Guston’s residents
What is the population of Guston?
The 2021 Census counted 1,684 people in Guston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Guston?
The median age was 25.5 at the 2021 Census. 20% of residents were 15 to 24 and 6.9% were 65 or over.
Is Guston a student village?
Yes: 20% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (217 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Guston?
51% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 33% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Guston?
25% said they had no religion and 37% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.6% were Muslim and 7.6% didn’t answer.
Is Guston good for families?
49% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Guston’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.