Photo: Peter Wood · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 91% of UK towns, at 96%
Set against 8.7% across England’s towns, 11% of residents give unpaid care in Lydd. The town is home to 3,911 residents in 1,669 households, by the 2021 Census. Households in flats: 7.9% of the total. Fewer households with dependent children than in just over three fifths of UK towns: 26%.
What the Census says about Lydd’s people
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 46% 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.
±0% since 2011, a pace below 83% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Lydd’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,900 people in 2011; 3,900 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+39%) and 16 to 29 least (−23%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2015: 110 more people.
Below 72% of UK towns: 9.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 7.6% of residents. The median age in Lydd is 46.2, higher than in 63% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. 23% of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%).
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Lydd, 46.2. 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.
3.8% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 90% 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 85% of UK towns: 7%. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Bigger households than 67% of UK towns: 2.4 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.
Nothing unusual on shared households of unrelated adults: 3.5%, close to the figure across England’s towns. 29% of households are one person living alone.
Below 56% of UK towns: 14% of households have no car or van
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 21%, close to the figure across England’s towns. About one household in 7 lives without a car or van. Few places have as many households in terraced houses: 22% here, more than in nearly three fifths of UK towns.
Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 97% 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
Residents born outside the UK make up 3.7%, against 18% across England’s towns. As a reference point, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 90% of UK towns, at 49%
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: 96% of Lydd · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 46%, close to the figure across England’s towns. The usual figure: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (2.1%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Bangladeshi (0.2%).
36% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 71% 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
43% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. Adults who have never married: 39% across England’s towns, for comparison.
17% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 17% of Lydd’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 25% have no qualification (18%).
Among 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, the 247th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Milford on Sea (64.6), the oldest. Nearest to Lydd in age: Fleckney (46.2), Lambourn (46.2), Pegswood (46.3) and Shirland and Stonebroom (46.3).
Around Lydd, 6 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lydd | 3,911 | — | 46.2 | 23% | 26% |
| Littlestone-on-Sea | 5,271 | 2.6 mi | 57.9 | 37% | 17% |
| New Romney | 3,870 | 2.9 mi | 50.4 | 28% | 23% |
| St Mary's Bay | 2,966 | 5 mi | 60.8 | 42% | 13% |
| Camber | 1,132 | 5.1 mi | 50.8 | 25% | 22% |
| Dymchurch | 3,097 | 6.9 mi | 59.2 | 39% | 15% |
| Rye | 4,888 | 7.8 mi | 52.5 | 30% | 19% |
| Hamstreet | 1,738 | 8.1 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 Lydd’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. Lydd’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,911 people in 2021, against 3,911 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 Lydd’s residents
What is the population of Lydd?
The 2021 Census counted 3,911 people in Lydd’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,900 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Lydd?
The median age was 46.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 63% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lydd?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lydd?
49% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Lydd good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Lydd’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.