Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Marden is younger than 87% of UK towns: a median age of 38.5
In Marden, 26% of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. This Kent town is home to 3,489 residents in 1,467 households, by the 2021 Census. For Marden, the census puts households with dependent children at 32%. Higher than in just over four fifths of UK towns: 46% of residents said they have no religion.
What the Census says about Marden’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Marden’s residents are under 38.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 8.7% are 15 to 24 and 18% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Fewer young people than 82% of UK towns: 8.7% are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
18% of residents are 65 or over, about the same as across England’s towns. To put it in context, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Marden, 38.5. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
A lower share of full-time students than 88% of UK towns, at 3.8%
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 Marden, 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
Larger households than 72% of UK towns: 2.4 people 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.
Against a figure of 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Marden comes in at 2.2%.
Marden sits above 69% of UK towns for households in flats (15%)
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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 13% of households have no car or van in Marden. More households in detached houses than in 55% of UK towns: 31%. On average, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
9% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 70% of UK towns don’t reach
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 whose main language is English: 96%, below 73% of UK towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (4.5%) and in Africa (1.7%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 88% in Marden, less than in 73% 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 Marden · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
47% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Next after White British come Other White (5.5%), Mixed or multiple (3%) and Indian (0.9%).
In Marden, 35% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 64% 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
Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 8%, from the figure across England’s towns. For 90 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Higher than in just over half of UK towns: 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Typically, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 36%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 36% of adults in Marden (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 15% (England’s towns: 18%).
62nd lowest median age among 749 UK towns of 2,500 to 5,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Milford on Sea the oldest (64.6). Nearest to Marden in age: Bowburn (38.3), Feltwell (38.5), Elsenham (38.6) and Edwalton (38.7).
The towns around Marden 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marden | 3,489 | — | 38.5 | 18% | 32% |
| Staplehurst | 6,181 | 2.6 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 31% |
| Horsmonden | 1,580 | 3.5 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 30% |
| Coxheath | 8,453 | 4.1 mi | 44.3 | 23% | 29% |
| Yalding | 1,549 | 4.4 mi | 46.5 | 22% | 28% |
| Paddock Wood | 7,616 | 4.5 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Goudhurst | 1,104 | 4.5 mi | 46.3 | 19% | 31% |
| Sutton Valence | 1,457 | 5.2 mi | 45.8 | 21% | 28% |
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 Marden’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 Marden’s residents
What is the population of Marden?
The 2021 Census counted 3,489 people in Marden’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Marden?
The median age was 38.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 87% of UK towns. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Marden?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Marden?
46% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Marden good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Marden’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.