Barn About 30 Metres North West of Mersham Manor · Photo: David Anstiss · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households in detached houses than 98% of UK towns, at 65%
Across England’s towns, 24% of households have no car or van; in Mersham, 7.2%. Still, with a median age of 48.9, Mersham is older than 79% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Mersham was home to 770 people in 322 households. The census found that a quarter of households are one person living alone here.
Mersham sits below 97% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (7.4%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, against 24% in Mersham. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns.
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.
Full-time students make up 3.8% in Mersham, less than in 89% 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%.
In Mersham, 7.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across England’s towns. Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns.
2.4 people per household, more than in 71% 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.
Little separates the share of shared households of unrelated adults here, 3.4%, from the figure across England’s towns. Locally, 28% of households have dependent children.
A smaller share of households in flats than 88% of UK towns: 4%
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
The figure for households in terraced houses is 13% in Mersham and 24% across England’s towns. Typically, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Mersham, more than in 80% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%). On residents born outside the UK, Mersham sits lower than 55% of UK towns: 5.8%. As a yardstick, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 57% in Mersham, more than in 88% 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: 94% of Mersham · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion make up 37%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are common here: 94%, more than in 70% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (2.3%), Mixed or multiple (2%) and Indian (0.5%).
More married adults and civil partners than 93% of UK towns: 57%
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
Here one in ten residents give unpaid care, where the figure across England’s towns is 8.7%. Adults who have never married are rarer here than in 89% of UK towns. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 18.
37% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 37% of Mersham’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification (18%).
Mersham is younger than 3 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mersham | 770 | — | 48.9 | 24% | 28% |
| Finberry | 1,571 | 1.7 mi | 30.3 | 4.1% | 47% |
| Aldington | 1,280 | 1.9 mi | 43.3 | 22% | 33% |
| Brabourne Lees | 1,479 | 1.9 mi | 51.2 | 29% | 24% |
| Ashford | 82,143 | 3.3 mi | 37.2 | 15% | 35% |
| Wye | 2,064 | 4.5 mi | 49.1 | 29% | 25% |
| Lympne | 1,074 | 4.9 mi | 52.7 | 28% | 22% |
| Shadoxhurst | 1,009 | 5 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 26% |
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 Mersham’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 Mersham’s residents
What is the population of Mersham?
The 2021 Census counted 770 people in Mersham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Mersham?
The median age was 48.9 at the 2021 Census. 7.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Mersham?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 5.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Mersham?
37% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 4.4% didn’t answer.
Is Mersham good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Mersham’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.