Photo: Wsw16 · Public domainHouseholds without a car or van: 5.2%, a lower share than 98% of UK towns
57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 44%. For Matfield, the census puts one-person households at 23%. Lower than in 95% of UK towns: 7.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24. The village is home to 468 residents in 190 households, by the 2021 Census.
Half of Matfield is over 46.7, older than 66% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 22% in Matfield and 18% across England’s towns. No age band is larger than 50–54: 8.5% of residents.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 84 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Above 97% of UK towns: 16% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Matfield has 49% and 12%. On the census count, 5.2% of adults are full-time students. For comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.6%, a lower share than 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.
A household here has 2.4 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. On households with dependent children, Matfield sits higher than 66% of UK towns: 29%. Elsewhere, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
54% of households live in a detached house, more than in 93% 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
Households in terraced houses: 9.8%, below 89% of UK towns. Across Matfield, nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment. On average, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Matfield sits above 75% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (10%)
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents whose main language is English: 98%, below 53% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Matfield ranks above 94% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 60%
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: 92% of Matfield · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
92% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 82% across Kent’s towns and 73% across England’s towns. For residents who describe themselves as Christian, the comparison across England’s towns is 46%. Residents with no religion: 33% of the total.
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 93% of UK towns: 25%
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
7 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Matfield has fewer unpaid carers than 97% of UK towns, at 6.8%. Typically, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 48% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Matfield, 48% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 10% have no qualification at all (18%).
Around Matfield, 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matfield | 468 | — | 46.7 | 22% | 29% |
| Paddock Wood | 7,616 | 1.8 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Pembury | 5,783 | 2.2 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 28% |
| Five Oak Green | 1,436 | 2.4 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 31% |
| Horsmonden | 1,580 | 2.6 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 30% |
| East Peckham | 2,144 | 4.1 mi | 47.7 | 26% | 29% |
| Goudhurst | 1,104 | 4.5 mi | 46.3 | 19% | 31% |
| Royal Tunbridge Wells | 51,215 | 4.8 mi | 40.1 | 16% | 30% |
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 Matfield’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 Matfield’s residents
What is the population of Matfield?
The 2021 Census counted 468 people in Matfield’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Matfield?
The median age was 46.7 at the 2021 Census. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Matfield?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Matfield?
33% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Matfield good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Matfield’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.