Photo: D-G-Seamon · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 98% of UK towns: half of Littlestone-on-Sea is over 57.9
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Littlestone-on-Sea, 17%. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 5,271, in 2,266 households. For Littlestone-on-Sea, the census puts households in terraced houses at 4.4%. The town has fewer one-person households than 84% of UK towns, at 25%.
What the Census says about Littlestone-on-Sea’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Littlestone-on-Sea’s residents are under 57.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 37% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
596 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over: 37%, a higher share than 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: one in ten residents, 2.2 times the share across England’s towns. Littlestone-on-Sea has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 95% of UK towns, at 7.8%. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Littlestone-on-Sea, 57.9. 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.
Littlestone-on-Sea ranks below 97% of UK towns on full-time students: 3.3%
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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Littlestone-on-Sea has 7.8%. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
In Littlestone-on-Sea, 3.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, more than in 90% 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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Littlestone-on-Sea, 2.2. The benchmark for shared households of unrelated adults across England’s towns: 4.3%.
A higher share of households in detached houses than 98% of UK towns, at 63%
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
Just over one in ten households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%). Households in flats: nearly a tenth of the total. Across England’s towns, households in detached houses come to 21%.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 84% of UK towns, at 99%
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 share of residents born outside the UK is 4.4%, against 18% across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). Across England’s towns, 90% of residents have English as their main language.
A higher White British share than 80% of UK towns: 95% of residents
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: 95% of Littlestone-on-Sea · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 55%, above 81% of UK towns. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 38%, fewer than in 70% of UK towns. Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Caribbean (0.3%).
Unpaid carers: 12%, a higher share than 95% 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
Compared with 39% across England’s towns, a quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. In Littlestone-on-Sea, 54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. For unpaid carers, the comparison across England’s towns is 8.7%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 21% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
21% of Littlestone-on-Sea’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 23% have none (18%).
12th oldest of 516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Littlestone-on-Sea in age: Preesall and Knott End-on-Sea (57.9), Hemsby (57.9), Jaywick (58) and Garstang (58.2).
Of the 7 towns nearest Littlestone-on-Sea, 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Littlestone-on-Sea | 5,271 | — | 57.9 | 37% | 17% |
| New Romney | 3,870 | 1.4 mi | 50.4 | 28% | 23% |
| Lydd | 3,911 | 2.6 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 26% |
| St Mary's Bay | 2,966 | 2.9 mi | 60.8 | 42% | 13% |
| Dymchurch | 3,097 | 4.6 mi | 59.2 | 39% | 15% |
| Camber | 1,132 | 7.7 mi | 50.8 | 25% | 22% |
| Lympne | 1,074 | 7.9 mi | 52.7 | 28% | 22% |
| Hamstreet | 1,738 | 8 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 31% |
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 Littlestone-on-Sea’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 Littlestone-on-Sea’s residents
What is the population of Littlestone-on-Sea?
The 2021 Census counted 5,271 people in Littlestone-on-Sea’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Littlestone-on-Sea?
The median age was 57.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 98% of UK towns. 7.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 37% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Littlestone-on-Sea?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Littlestone-on-Sea?
38% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Littlestone-on-Sea good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Littlestone-on-Sea’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.