Photo: David Martin · CC BY-SA 2.0Above 99% of UK towns: 45% of households have dependent children
The figure for households without a car or van is 5% in Iwade and 24% across England’s towns. Locally, 16% of households are one person living alone. Few places have so few households in flats: 8.3% here, fewer than in 64% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 4,533 residents in the town, living in 1,616 households.
What the Census says about Iwade’s people
A town of families
45% of Iwade’s 1,616 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 99% of UK towns. 24% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Iwade at 3,100 in 2011 and 4,500 in 2024, up 45%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 97% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Iwade’s residents are under 36.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 10% are 15 to 24 and 11% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More with no religion than most
51% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 43% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
Faster growth than 97% of UK towns: Iwade changed by +45% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Iwade’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,100 people in 2011; 4,500 in 2024.
Between mid-2016 and mid-2017 the population rose by 260, its biggest one-year gain. Change by age ran from +106% for the 65 and over to +23% for the 30 to 44.
Half of Iwade is under 36.1, younger than 94% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
People aged 65 and over make up 11% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. Iwade has more residents aged 15 to 24 than 62% of UK towns, at 10%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Iwade, 36.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Iwade sits above 83% of UK towns for full-time students (5.9%)
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 38% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 19% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.4%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Iwade households average 2.8 people, larger than in 99% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.7%, above nearly two thirds of UK towns.
Households in detached houses make up 33% in Iwade, more than in 59% 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
Across Iwade, 20% of households live in a terraced house. 8.3% of households live in a flat, less than in 64% of UK towns; 33% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 54% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3%) or in Africa (1.8%). 6.4% of residents were born outside the UK, a higher share than in 51% of UK towns. The usual figure: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 5.4%.
In Iwade, 51% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 95% 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: 91% of Iwade · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
43% of residents describe themselves as Christian; across England’s towns the figure is 46%. Residents who describe themselves as White British account for 91%. Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 69% of UK towns: 51%
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
The figure for adults who have never married is 34% in Iwade and 39% across England’s towns. The share of unpaid carers stands at 8%. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Degree-level qualifications reach 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
28% of Iwade’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have none (18%).
Ranked by age, 38th youngest of 695 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.7 in Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe. Nearest to Iwade in age: Keresley Newlands (36.1), Bodicote (36.1), Fitzwilliam and Kinsley (36.2) and Eastchurch (36.3).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Iwade
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iwade | 4,533 | — | 36.1 | 11% | 45% |
| Sittingbourne | 54,385 | 2.3 mi | 38.6 | 17% | 33% |
| Lower Halstow | 1,210 | 2.6 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 26% |
| Queenborough | 3,915 | 2.8 mi | 35.8 | 16% | 33% |
| Newington | 2,691 | 3.2 mi | 39.1 | 19% | 30% |
| Upchurch | 1,727 | 3.5 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 25% |
| Halfway Houses | 4,396 | 3.7 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 26% |
| Sheerness | 13,253 | 4.4 mi | 34.5 | 13% | 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 Iwade’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. Iwade’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,533 people in 2021, against 4,533 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 Iwade’s residents
What is the population of Iwade?
The 2021 Census counted 4,533 people in Iwade’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,500 people in mid-2024, 45% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Iwade?
The median age was 36.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 11% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Iwade?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 6.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Iwade?
51% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Iwade good for families?
45% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Iwade’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.