Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0Hythe is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 55.5
The average household has 2.1 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Census figures put one-person households at 36% in Hythe. Just over a quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a lower share than in 89% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 14,613, in 6,998 households.
What the Census says about Hythe’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Hythe’s residents are under 55.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 35% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
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.
Hythe changed by +4% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 64% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Hythe’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; 15,100 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2017 to mid-2018: 200. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+24%) and 30 to 44 least (−8%).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 35% in Hythe, more than in 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
7.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Hythe, 55.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
Hythe ranks below 94% of UK towns on full-time students: 3.6%
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%.
9.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Only 19% of households in Hythe have dependent children
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.
Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Hythe. The share of households with dependent children across England’s towns is 29%.
Hythe: 20% of households have no car or van, above 71% 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
28% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Typically, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. For Hythe, the census puts households in flats at 23%. Lower than in 51% of UK towns: 20% of households live in a terraced house.
More residents born outside the UK than 64% of UK towns: 8.1%
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
Since 2017: 9.5% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns. 98% of residents have English as their main language, a higher share than in 57% of UK towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.6%) or in the Middle East and Asia (2%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 55%, a higher share than 81% 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 Hythe · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Nothing unusual on residents with no religion: 37%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (4.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (0.4%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are scarce here: 92%, fewer than in 54% of UK towns. Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 79% of UK towns: 11%
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
Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Hythe has 50%. As a reference point, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 31% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 31% of adults in Hythe (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 18% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 44 in Lympne & Palmarsh to 60 in Saltwood, Seabrook & Etchinghill
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Saltwood, Seabrook & Etchinghill is the oldest area, with 42% aged 65 or over; Lympne & Palmarsh the youngest (median age 44). Families with children are most common in Lympne & Palmarsh (28% of households).
384 UK towns of 10,000 to 20,000 people: this is the 8th oldest
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 Hythe in age: Cleveleys (54.3), Minehead (54.3), Brixham (55.6) and Bridport (56.2).
Hythe and its 7 nearest towns: 2 of them are 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hythe | 14,613 | — | 55.5 | 35% | 19% |
| Lympne | 1,074 | 2.6 mi | 52.7 | 28% | 22% |
| Folkestone | 51,987 | 3.8 mi | 41.3 | 19% | 27% |
| Lyminge | 1,918 | 4 mi | 55.1 | 37% | 21% |
| Dymchurch | 3,097 | 4.4 mi | 59.2 | 39% | 15% |
| Hawkinge | 8,499 | 4.6 mi | 41.1 | 18% | 37% |
| Brabourne Lees | 1,479 | 6 mi | 51.2 | 29% | 24% |
| Capel-le-Ferne | 1,962 | 6.1 mi | 59.8 | 40% | 14% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Hythe’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. Hythe’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 14,971 people in 2021, against 14,613 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 Hythe’s residents
What is the population of Hythe?
The 2021 Census counted 14,613 people in Hythe’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 15,100 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Hythe?
The median age was 55.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 97% of UK towns. 7.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 35% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hythe?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 8.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hythe?
37% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Hythe good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Lympne & Palmarsh (28% of households). Schools are on Hythe’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.