Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer households without a car or van than 91% of UK towns: 8.1%
Half of Meopham’s residents are over 49.8, older than in 84% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 4,349 residents here, living in 1,802 households. Across Meopham, 57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Households in detached houses: 42%, above four fifths of UK towns.
What the Census says about Meopham’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Meopham at 4,300 in 2011 and 4,200 in 2024, down 3%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 93% 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.
A −3% change since 2011: slower than 93% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Meopham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,300 people in 2011; 4,200 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+21%) and 45 to 64 least (−19%).
27% of Meopham is 65 or over, a higher share than 80% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 8.8% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24: a tenth of the total.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Meopham, 49.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
6.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 93% 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%.
Full-time students make up 4.9% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Fewer people live alone than in 87% of UK towns: 25% of households
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.
The typical household size is 2.4 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than in 67% of UK towns: 2.1%. Against that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Across Meopham, just over a quarter of households have dependent children.
Below 88% of UK towns: 10% of households live in a terraced house
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
With households in flats at 6.2%, Meopham is behind 77% of UK towns on that count. The comparison figure for households in terraced houses is 24% across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English: 98%, a higher share than 65% 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 abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.5%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%). 6.1% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 53% of UK towns. As a reference point, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 75% of UK towns: 54%
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: 91% of Meopham · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion; in Meopham, 36%. Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2.9%), Indian (2.1%) and Mixed or multiple (1.7%). At 91%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is lower than in 55% of UK towns.
Fewer adults who have never married than 94% 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
In Meopham, 10% of residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 120 residents. The usual figure: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 32%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 32% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 15% hold no qualification (18%).
172nd oldest of 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 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); Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe the oldest (64.7). Nearest to Meopham in age: Burtonwood (49.7), Blackhall Colliery (49.8), Wadhurst (49.8) and Ystradgynlais (49.8).
Around Meopham, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meopham | 4,349 | — | 49.8 | 27% | 26% |
| Istead Rise | 3,398 | 1.9 mi | 52.2 | 31% | 25% |
| Longfield, New Ash Green and Hartley | 16,077 | 2.1 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 27% |
| Culverstone Green | 2,038 | 2.7 mi | 49.4 | 25% | 27% |
| Vigo Village | 2,005 | 3.2 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 33% |
| Gravesend | 58,105 | 3.6 mi | 38.3 | 16% | 34% |
| Shorne | 1,038 | 3.8 mi | 54.9 | 34% | 21% |
| Halling | 2,926 | 4 mi | 37.8 | 13% | 35% |
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 Meopham’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. Meopham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,349 people in 2021, against 4,349 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 Meopham’s residents
What is the population of Meopham?
The 2021 Census counted 4,349 people in Meopham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,200 people in mid-2024, 3% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Meopham?
The median age was 49.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 84% of UK towns. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Meopham?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 6.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Meopham?
36% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Meopham good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Meopham’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.