Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Maidstone is under 38.5, younger than 87% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British; in Maidstone, 77%. At the same time, on households with dependent children, Maidstone sits higher than 85% of UK towns: 32%. In 2021, the Census found 109,503 residents in the city, living in 44,077 households. The census found that 18% of households live in a detached house locally.
What the Census says about Maidstone’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Maidstone’s residents are under 38.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Maidstone at 96,100 in 2011 and 116,200 in 2024, up 21%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 87% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Maidstone’s population changed by +21% since 2011, more than in 87% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Maidstone’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 96,100 people in 2011; 116,200 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2023 to mid-2024, up 2,710 people. Split by age, the 30 to 44 changed most (+31%) and the 16 to 29 least (+1%).
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 85% of UK towns: 16%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
30–34 is the most common age band: 7.9% of residents. At 11%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is higher than in just over three quarters of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In St Mary's Bay, the oldest of Kent’s towns by this measure, it is 42%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Maidstone, 38.5. 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.
5.2% of adults are full-time students, more than in 67% 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%.
By class, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Higher than in 88% of UK towns: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 84% 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.
One-person households: 28% here and 30% across England’s towns. Locally, 4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Maidstone sits above 72% of UK towns for households in terraced houses (26%)
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 flats: 24%, above 90% of UK towns. The census found that 18% of households have no car or van in Maidstone.
Residents born outside the UK make up 18% in Maidstone, more than in 91% 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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (8.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (5.4%). Maidstone has fewer residents whose main language is English than 94% of UK towns, at 89%. Since 2017: 22% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 47%, a lower share than 70% 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: 77% of Maidstone · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
2.7% of residents are Muslim. Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Maidstone has fewer residents with no religion than 53% of UK towns, at 41%.
A larger share of adults who have never married than 77% of UK towns: 37%
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 2,616 residents. Few places have so few unpaid carers: 8.3% here, fewer than in 78% of UK towns. To put it in context, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. The figure for married adults and civil partners is 46% in Maidstone and 44% across England’s towns.
29% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Maidstone, 29% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 18% have no qualification at all (18%).
From a median age of 34 in Ringlestone & Central Maidstone to 52 in Yalding & Farleigh
The city’s 15 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Yalding & Farleigh is the oldest area, with 32% aged 65 or over; Ringlestone & Central Maidstone the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Kingswood, Langley Heath & Chart Sutton (42% of households).
Of 63 UK towns its size (77,000 to 148,000 people), the 29th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 29.8 in Salford to 48.4 in Southport. Nearest to Maidstone in age: Bedford (38.4), Hemel Hempstead (38.5), Burnley (38.7) and Doncaster (38.9).
The towns around Maidstone are all 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maidstone | 109,503 | — | 38.5 | 16% | 32% |
| Bearsted | 8,349 | 2.1 mi | 48.8 | 28% | 29% |
| Coxheath | 8,453 | 2.6 mi | 44.3 | 23% | 29% |
| Eccles | 1,706 | 4 mi | 39.4 | 16% | 31% |
| Larkfield | 26,147 | 4 mi | 42 | 20% | 32% |
| Wateringbury | 2,248 | 4.6 mi | 48.7 | 23% | 26% |
| Burham | 1,293 | 4.6 mi | 48.8 | 24% | 23% |
| Sutton Valence | 1,457 | 4.8 mi | 45.8 | 21% | 28% |
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 Maidstone’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. Maidstone’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 108,989 people in 2021, against 109,503 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 Maidstone’s residents
What is the population of Maidstone?
The 2021 Census counted 109,503 people in Maidstone’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 116,200 people in mid-2024, 21% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Maidstone?
The median age was 38.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 87% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Maidstone?
77% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 18% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Maidstone?
41% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.7% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Maidstone good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Kingswood, Langley Heath & Chart Sutton (42% of households). Schools are on Maidstone’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.