Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent. · CC BY 2.5Half of Northfleet is under 36, younger than 94% of UK towns
At 2.6 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. 29,892 residents in 11,479 households: that is Northfleet at the 2021 Census. Households in detached houses: nearly a tenth of the total. Fewer residents with no religion than in 89% of UK towns: 32%.
What the Census says about Northfleet’s people
A town of families
37% of Northfleet’s 11,479 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 96% of UK towns. 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
More born abroad than most towns
23% of residents were born outside the UK, against 13% across Kent’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (9.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (7.4%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
38% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 96% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (9.6%), Indian (8.5%) and African (6.5%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Northfleet’s residents are under 36 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 13% are 65 or over. 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 +15% change since 2011: Northfleet grew faster than 76% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Northfleet’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 26,100 people in 2011; 30,000 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 0 to 15 changed most (+26%) and 16 to 29 least (−3%). No year added more people than mid-2023 to mid-2024: 920.
13% of residents are 65 or over, below 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across England’s towns is 12%. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Northfleet, 36. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A higher share of full-time students than 82% of UK towns, at 5.9%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 25% of Northfleet’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 31%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%. In Northfleet, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children: 37%, a higher share than 96% 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.
By its share of one-person households (27%), Northfleet is below 76% of UK towns. Shared houses stand out: 3.6% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 88% of UK towns. Against that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Northfleet: 36% of households live in a terraced house, above 90% 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
In Northfleet, 24% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. Households without a car or van are more common here than in 82% of UK towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 23%, a higher share than 95% 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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
85% of residents have English as their main language (England’s towns: 90%). Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (9.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (7.4%).
Northfleet sits below 96% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (62%)
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: 62% of Northfleet · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The Muslim share of residents is 3.6%. 47% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 67% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Northfleet ranks below 83% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 42%
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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 786. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a higher share than in 90% of UK towns. Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 8.5%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 25% of its adults qualified to degree level, Northfleet compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 22% hold no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 31 in Ebbsfleet & Greenhithe to 42 in Gravesend South & Coldharbour
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Gravesend South & Coldharbour is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; Ebbsfleet & Greenhithe the youngest (median age 31). Families with children are most common in Ebbsfleet & Greenhithe (43% of households).
12th youngest of 227 UK towns of 21,000 to 40,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Egham is the youngest (31.1); Rustington the oldest (56.2). Nearest to Northfleet in age: Didcot (35.8), Quedgeley and Hardwicke (35.9), Clifton (36.1) and Accrington (36.2).
Northfleet and its 7 nearest towns: 3 of them are 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfleet | 29,892 | — | 36 | 13% | 37% |
| Gravesend | 58,105 | 1.6 mi | 38.3 | 16% | 34% |
| Ebbsfleet Valley | 2,989 | 1.6 mi | 30.5 | 1.5% | 49% |
| Istead Rise | 3,398 | 2.1 mi | 52.2 | 31% | 25% |
| Tilbury | 14,187 | 2.2 mi | 32.5 | 9.6% | 44% |
| Swanscombe | 15,462 | 2.4 mi | 35.4 | 11% | 36% |
| Bean | 1,633 | 2.6 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 30% |
| Stone | 6,438 | 3.3 mi | 35.7 | 8.5% | 34% |
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 Northfleet’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. Northfleet’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 28,264 people in 2021, against 29,892 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 Northfleet’s residents
What is the population of Northfleet?
The 2021 Census counted 29,892 people in Northfleet’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 30,000 people in mid-2024, 15% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Northfleet?
The median age was 36 at the 2021 Census, younger than 94% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 13% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Northfleet?
62% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 23% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Northfleet?
32% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 3.6% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Northfleet good for families?
37% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Ebbsfleet & Greenhithe (43% of households). Schools are on Northfleet’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.