Photo: Oxenhillshaw · Public domainIn Otford and Kemsing, 23% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
Households without a car or van: 8.4%, below 90% of UK towns. Just over one in ten households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 83% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Otford and Kemsing was home to 7,332 people in 2,886 households. Here, 59% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
+1% since 2011: slower than 82% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Otford and Kemsing’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 7,400 people in 2011; 7,500 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2020 to mid-2021, up 170 people. The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+9%), the 30 to 44 group the smallest (−16%).
Half of Otford and Kemsing is over 46.4, older than 64% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 45–49: 7.8% of residents. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 64% of UK towns: 9.3%. 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, against 23% in Otford and Kemsing.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Otford and Kemsing, 46.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 90% of UK towns: 6.7%
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 45% of Otford and Kemsing’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 14%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The usual figure: just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. On the census count, 5.1% of adults are full-time students.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Above 88% of UK towns: 33% of households have dependent children
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.
Where 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, Otford and Kemsing has 2.6%. As a reference point, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Households here average 2.5 people each.
Otford and Kemsing ranks above 80% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 42%
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
Compared with 23% across England’s towns, 5.7% of households live in a flat or apartment here. Households in detached houses: 21% across England’s towns, for comparison.
More residents born outside the UK than 65% of UK towns: 8.3%
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.7%) and in Africa (2.2%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are common here: 98%, more than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 17% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
55% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 82% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 90% of Otford and Kemsing · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Little separates the share of residents with no religion here, 37%, from the figure across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are scarce here: 90%, fewer than in 61% of UK towns. Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (5.1%), Mixed or multiple (2%) and Indian (0.5%).
25% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 92% of UK towns
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: 8.8%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. Some 145 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. As a yardstick, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
41% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
41% of Otford and Kemsing’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 13% have none (18%).
Ranked by age, 221st oldest of 538 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Red Lodge is the youngest (30.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Otford and Kemsing in age: Ottery St Mary (46.3), Millom (46.4), Pembroke (46.4) and Seaton Delaval (46.5).
Of the 7 towns nearest Otford and Kemsing, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otford and Kemsing | 7,332 | — | 46.4 | 23% | 33% |
| Seal | 1,616 | 1.5 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 31% |
| Dunton Green | 3,241 | 1.8 mi | 36.3 | 12% | 34% |
| Sevenoaks | 26,474 | 2.2 mi | 42 | 18% | 36% |
| West Kingsdown | 4,306 | 3.6 mi | 52.1 | 30% | 22% |
| Sundridge | 1,190 | 3.9 mi | 46.4 | 22% | 28% |
| Eynsford | 1,676 | 3.9 mi | 51.3 | 27% | 23% |
| Ightham | 2,037 | 4 mi | 48 | 23% | 35% |
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 Otford and Kemsing’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. Otford and Kemsing’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 7,562 people in 2021, against 7,332 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 Otford and Kemsing’s residents
What is the population of Otford and Kemsing?
The 2021 Census counted 7,332 people in Otford and Kemsing’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 7,500 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Otford and Kemsing?
The median age was 46.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 64% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Otford and Kemsing?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 8.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Otford and Kemsing?
37% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Otford and Kemsing good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Otford and Kemsing’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.