Mountains Lodge · Photo: Ian Capper · CC BY-SA 2.0In Hildenborough, 6.6% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 96% of UK towns
22% of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns. Households with dependent children account for 33%. Fewer adults who have never married than in 93% of UK towns: 25%. Census day 2021: 4,943 residents and 1,908 households in Hildenborough.
Hildenborough changed by +2% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 77% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Hildenborough’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,900 people in 2011; 5,000 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+28%) and 30 to 44 least (−18%). Mid-2014 to mid-2015 brought the biggest yearly rise, 80 people.
A median age of 47.5: Hildenborough is older than 72% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Hildenborough comes in at 24%. 50–54 is the most common age band: 8.6% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Hildenborough, 47.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 5.9%, a higher share than 82% 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%.
The share of residents who moved in within the year trails 68% of UK towns: 7.9%. Managerial and professional jobs take in 46% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 13% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%).
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 94% of UK towns: 2.6 people each 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.
Here 3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, where the figure across England’s towns is 4.3%.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 90% of UK towns, at 8.4%
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 detached houses make up 48%, against 21% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%. On the census count, 6.9% of households live in a flat or apartment.
Hildenborough: 10% of residents born outside the UK
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.4%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Compared with 90% across England’s towns, 97% of residents have English as their main language here.
Hildenborough: 54% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 77% 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: 89% of Hildenborough · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 37%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. For Hildenborough, the census puts residents who describe themselves as White British at 89%. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns is 46%.
More married adults and civil partners than 96% of UK towns: 59%
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
91 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 8.5%, fewer than in 72% of UK towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 42%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 42% of its adults qualified to degree level, Hildenborough compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 11% hold no qualification (18%).
338th oldest of 810 UK towns of 3,000 to 7,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Hildenborough in age: Belton (47.5), Water Orton (47.5), Netley (47.5) and Crowle (47.6).
2 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Hildenborough
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hildenborough | 4,943 | — | 47.5 | 24% | 33% |
| Tonbridge | 36,136 | 1.4 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 31% |
| Leigh | 1,104 | 1.8 mi | 48.2 | 24% | 30% |
| Southborough | 9,632 | 3.8 mi | 41.9 | 17% | 33% |
| Hadlow | 3,168 | 3.9 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 25% |
| Plaxtol | 1,137 | 4.1 mi | 47.2 | 20% | 31% |
| Five Oak Green | 1,436 | 4.9 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 31% |
| Ightham | 2,037 | 5.1 mi | 48 | 23% | 35% |
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 Hildenborough’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. Hildenborough’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,977 people in 2021, against 4,943 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 Hildenborough’s residents
What is the population of Hildenborough?
The 2021 Census counted 4,943 people in Hildenborough’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,000 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Hildenborough?
The median age was 47.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 72% of UK towns. 9.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hildenborough?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hildenborough?
37% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Hildenborough good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hildenborough’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. 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.