Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Herne sits below 89% of UK towns for one-person households (24%)
A household here has 2.5 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Still, 5.6% of households live in a flat or apartment, a lower share than in 80% of UK towns. Herne counted 14,874 residents and 5,954 households at the 2021 Census. Across Herne, 14% of households live in a terraced house.
What the Census says about Herne’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Herne at 14,500 in 2011 and 17,000 in 2024, up 17%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 80% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Growth of +17% since 2011 puts Herne ahead of 80% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Herne’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 14,500 people in 2011; 17,000 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2020 to mid-2021, 400 people. By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+49%) and the 0 to 15 group least (+6%).
A larger share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 81% of UK towns: 11%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, where the figure across England’s towns is 18%. The usual figure: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The largest age band is 55–59: 7.2% of residents. With a median age of 45, Herne is older than 54% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Herne, 45. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
More full-time students than 79% of UK towns: 5.7%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 31% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 24% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. 8.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Shared houses: 3% of households are unrelated adults, more than in 77% 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.
Families with dependent children are 30% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 14% are someone 66 or over living alone (Kent’s towns 13%). To put it in context, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
More households in detached houses than 77% of UK towns: 41%
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 without a car or van: 11%, below 76% of UK towns. Meanwhile, 5.6% of households live in a flat, less than in 80% of UK towns; 41% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 69% of UK towns: 4.6%
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
Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 12%. As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Locally, 99% of residents have English as their main language.
In Herne, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 66% 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 Herne · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.7%). More residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 57% of UK towns: 51%. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%. With residents with no religion at 42%, Herne is ahead of 55% of UK towns on that count.
51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 70% 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
31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 39%. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 481 residents. More unpaid carers than in 60% of UK towns: 9.7%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 25% of adults in Herne, 34% across England’s towns; 19% have no qualification, against 18%.
From a median age of 45 in Herne Bay South & Greenhill to 46 in Hampton, West End & Swalecliffe
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Hampton, West End & Swalecliffe is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Herne Bay South & Greenhill the youngest (median age 45). Families with children are most common in Herne & Broomfield (30% of households).
Ranked by age, 159th oldest of 384 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Herne in age: Hoyland (45), Whittlesey (45), Haslemere (45) and Wellington (45).
A younger town than 3 of the 7 around it: Herne
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herne | 14,874 | — | 45 | 23% | 30% |
| Herne Bay | 24,873 | 0.8 mi | 49.9 | 29% | 23% |
| Hersden | 2,118 | 3.3 mi | 34.5 | 13% | 40% |
| Sturry | 4,857 | 3.8 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 27% |
| Whitstable | 32,185 | 3.9 mi | 51.3 | 29% | 23% |
| Blean | 1,327 | 5 mi | 52.3 | 32% | 22% |
| Rough Common | 1,291 | 5.6 mi | 42.5 | 24% | 27% |
| Canterbury | 55,107 | 5.6 mi | 27.5 | 13% | 24% |
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 Herne’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. Herne’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 15,864 people in 2021, against 14,874 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 Herne’s residents
What is the population of Herne?
The 2021 Census counted 14,874 people in Herne’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 17,000 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Herne?
The median age was 45 at the 2021 Census, older than 54% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Herne?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 4.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Herne?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Herne good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Herne & Broomfield (30% of households). Schools are on Herne’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.