Church of St Peter · Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.03.1% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Here nearly two thirds of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. Ightham has fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 72% of UK towns, at 88%. The 2021 Census counted 2,037 residents in 767 households. Census figures put married adults and civil partners at 67% in the village.
What the Census says about Ightham’s people
A village of families
35% of Ightham’s 767 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 94% of UK towns. 19% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Ightham is older than 74% of UK towns: a median age of 48
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
In Ightham, nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, beside 18% across England’s towns. Locally, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
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.
Only 6.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Ightham
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 Ightham, 6.8% of adults are full-time students, beside 7.9% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 11% 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.
Fewer people live alone than in 99% of UK towns: 17% of households
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.
Households average 2.7 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. For one-person households, the comparison across England’s towns is 30%. Here, just over a third of households have dependent children. Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 72% of UK towns.
Only 1.6% of households live in a flat or apartment in Ightham
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
In Ightham, 10% of households live in a terraced house, beside 24% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
More residents born abroad than 77% of UK towns: 11% in Ightham
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
98% of residents have English as their main language (England’s towns: 90%). Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.4%) and in Africa (2.5%).
In Ightham, 56% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 84% 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: 88% of Ightham · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (6.4%), Mixed or multiple (2.7%) and Indian (1%). Fewer residents with no religion than in nearly four fifths of UK towns: 36%. Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Adults who have never married make up 22% in Ightham, less than in 99% 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
For 34 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Against that, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 9.4%, more than in 52% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 49% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Ightham, 49%, and 8.7% have none, against 18%. Many still at university: 15% list A levels as their highest qualification.
Ightham is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ightham | 2,037 | — | 48 | 23% | 35% |
| Borough Green | 4,712 | 1.3 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 31% |
| Plaxtol | 1,137 | 1.9 mi | 47.2 | 20% | 31% |
| Wrotham | 1,961 | 2.2 mi | 46.2 | 22% | 30% |
| Seal | 1,616 | 2.8 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 31% |
| Otford and Kemsing | 7,332 | 4 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 33% |
| Sevenoaks | 26,474 | 4.3 mi | 42 | 18% | 36% |
| Hadlow | 3,168 | 4.5 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 25% |
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 Ightham’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 Ightham’s residents
What is the population of Ightham?
The 2021 Census counted 2,037 people in Ightham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ightham?
The median age was 48 at the 2021 Census. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ightham?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ightham?
36% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Ightham good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ightham’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.