Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Hartley is older than 90% of UK towns: a median age of 51.1
30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, against 24% in Hartley. Still, more married adults and civil partners than in nearly four fifths of UK towns: 53%. There were 165 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 447 residents. For Hartley, the census puts residents who describe themselves as Christian at 55%.
In Hartley, 8.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 86% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Where 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, Hartley has 28%. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
7.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 78% 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%.
In Hartley, 37% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 20% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Few places have as many full-time students: 5.4% here, more than in 73% of UK towns. To put it in context, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 86% of UK towns: 2.5 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.
28% of households have dependent children (England’s towns: 29%). For Hartley, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 3.6%.
Fewer car-free households than 93% of UK towns: 7.7%
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
The figure for households in detached houses is 34% in Hartley and 21% across England’s towns. For comparison, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses: 18% of the total. At 9.5%, the share of households in flats is lower than in 57% of UK towns.
98% of residents have English as their main language, 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born outside the UK: 7.6% here and 18% across England’s towns. To put it in context, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in Africa (2.9%) and in EU countries (1.8%).
No religion: 39% of residents, a lower share than 65% 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: 92% of Hartley · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (5.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and African (0.9%). For comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. 92% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 52% of UK towns.
27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 84% 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
Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 53% of UK towns. As a reference point, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
36% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
12% of Hartley’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 36% have one at degree level (34%).
Every neighbour of Hartley has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartley | 447 | — | 51.1 | 28% | 28% |
| Cranbrook | 3,962 | 1.2 mi | 45.3 | 24% | 26% |
| Hawkhurst | 3,683 | 2.9 mi | 47 | 24% | 26% |
| Goudhurst | 1,104 | 3 mi | 46.3 | 19% | 31% |
| Benenden | 1,409 | 3.1 mi | 29.7 | 18% | 25% |
| Horsmonden | 1,580 | 5 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 30% |
| Hurst Green | 1,181 | 5 mi | 46.3 | 22% | 30% |
| Ticehurst | 1,464 | 5.2 mi | 47.2 | 30% | 29% |
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 Hartley’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 Hartley’s residents
What is the population of Hartley?
The 2021 Census counted 447 people in Hartley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Hartley?
The median age was 51.1 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hartley?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 7.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hartley?
39% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Hartley good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hartley’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.