Photo: Whn64 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in flats: 0.5%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
5.9% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Preston counted 587 residents and 222 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 20% of households are one person living alone. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 60%, more than in 98% of UK towns.
Preston sits below 88% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (8.4%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 35–39, with 8.7% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. With a median age of 43.1, Preston is younger than 61% of UK towns. Typically, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 17%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer full-time students than 75% of UK towns: 4.2%
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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Preston comes in at 10%. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.
Preston households average 2.7 people, larger than in 98% 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.
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Preston, 31%. The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 1.8%.
Households in detached houses make up 64% in Preston, more than in 98% 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
By its share of households in terraced houses (5%), Preston is below 98% of UK towns. Households in detached houses make up 21% across England’s towns.
5.1% born outside the UK, fewer than in 63% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.9%) or in EU countries (1.5%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are common here: 98%, more than in 53% of UK towns. Residents born outside the UK: 18% across England’s towns, for comparison.
91% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 56% 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: 91% of Preston · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Mixed or multiple (4.8%), Bangladeshi (1%) and African (0.9%). Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as Christian: 49% here, fewer than in 55% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. 41% of residents said they have no religion; across England’s towns the figure is 37%.
Only 6.8% of residents give unpaid care in Preston
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
29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership (England’s towns: 39%). For 13 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Across the comparison, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 40% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Preston counts 40% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 9.7% have no qualification (18%).
6 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Preston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston | 587 | — | 43.1 | 17% | 31% |
| Wingham | 1,313 | 2.4 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 25% |
| Ash (Dover) | 2,529 | 2.9 mi | 48.4 | 25% | 26% |
| Hersden | 2,118 | 3.1 mi | 34.5 | 13% | 40% |
| Littlebourne | 1,596 | 3.4 mi | 49.4 | 28% | 26% |
| Sturry | 4,857 | 4.4 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 27% |
| Minster (Thanet) | 4,739 | 4.6 mi | 49 | 27% | 25% |
| Sandwich | 4,258 | 5.2 mi | 54 | 33% | 19% |
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 Preston’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 Preston’s residents
What is the population of Preston?
The 2021 Census counted 587 people in Preston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Preston?
The median age was 43.1 at the 2021 Census. 8.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Preston?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 5.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Preston?
41% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 7.3% didn’t answer.
Is Preston good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Preston’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.