Photo: Chris Gunns · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of New Romney is over 50.4, older than 87% of UK towns
Against a figure of 8.7% across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers in New Romney comes in at 11%. In 2021, the Census found 3,870 residents here, living in 1,722 households. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 95% of the total. Nearly two in five households live in a detached house, more than in 74% of UK towns.
What the Census says about New Romney’s people
Older than most towns
Half of New Romney’s residents are under 50.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 28% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
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 growing town: +13% since 2011, faster than 72% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. New Romney’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,600 people in 2011; 4,000 in 2024.
Between mid-2023 and mid-2024 the population rose by 110, its biggest one-year gain. Change by age ran from +47% for the 65 and over to −9% for the 16 to 29.
More residents aged 65 and over than 87% of UK towns: 28%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (9.2%), New Romney is below just over two thirds of UK towns. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ New Romney, 50.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
Full-time students: 3.7%, a lower share than 91% 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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in New Romney, 26% and 28%. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 10%.
A lower share of households with dependent children than 87% of UK towns, at 23%
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 make up 31%, against 30% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 70% of UK towns. To put it in context, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. On average, 2.2 people share a household.
17% of households have no car or van, a share 61% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 11%, above 54% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Here, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house.
New Romney ranks below 74% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 4.3%
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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 16% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns. 99% of residents have English as their main language.
In New Romney, 51% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 61% 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: 95% of New Romney · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Chinese (0.5%). On residents with no religion, New Romney sits higher than 58% of UK towns: 42%. As a reference point, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Fewer adults who have never married than 58% of UK towns: 31%
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
The figure for married adults and civil partners is 47% in New Romney and 44% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 147 residents.
A degree-level qualification for 20% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 20% of its adults qualified to degree level, New Romney compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 24% hold no qualification (18%).
Ranked by age, 109th oldest of 530 UK towns this size
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 New Romney in age: Martham (50.4), Langport (50.4), Bawtry (50.5) and Saxilby (50.5).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 4 are older than New Romney
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Romney | 3,870 | — | 50.4 | 28% | 23% |
| Littlestone-on-Sea | 5,271 | 1.4 mi | 57.9 | 37% | 17% |
| St Mary's Bay | 2,966 | 2.1 mi | 60.8 | 42% | 13% |
| Lydd | 3,911 | 2.9 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 26% |
| Dymchurch | 3,097 | 4 mi | 59.2 | 39% | 15% |
| Hamstreet | 1,738 | 6.6 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 31% |
| Lympne | 1,074 | 7.2 mi | 52.7 | 28% | 22% |
| Aldington | 1,280 | 7.2 mi | 43.3 | 22% | 33% |
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 New Romney’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. New Romney’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,870 people in 2021, against 3,870 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 New Romney’s residents
What is the population of New Romney?
The 2021 Census counted 3,870 people in New Romney’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,000 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in New Romney?
The median age was 50.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 87% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is New Romney?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in New Romney?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is New Romney good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on New Romney’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.