Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0

49.1Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 95% of UK towns: 7.7%

Households with dependent children are rarer here than in nearly four fifths of UK towns. Rolvenden counted 813 residents and 380 households at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 34% of households are one person living alone. By its share of households without a car or van (12%), Rolvenden is below 72% of UK towns.

27%aged 65 or over 3.6%born abroad 380households

Ages

A median age of 49.1: Rolvenden is older than 80% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

RolvendenEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

27% of residents are 65 or over; across England’s towns the figure is 18%. In St Mary's Bay, the oldest of Kent’s towns by this measure, it is 42%.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1517%

15 to 247.7%

25 to 4420%

45 to 6427%

65 and over27%

RolvendenKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

53% women, 47% men

Rolvenden

England

WomenMen

About 88 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.

Students & newcomers

2% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 99% 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

Full-time students2%

Higher managerial and professional11%

Lower managerial and professional23%

Intermediate13%

Small employers and self-employed15%

Supervisory and technical6.8%

Semi-routine11%

Routine13%

Never worked or long-term unemployed5.8%

RolvendenKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Rolvenden

13%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

103

residents, 13%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.1× England’s share

By class, just over a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 23% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On the census count, 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

Households here average 2.2 people, below 81% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 20%Living alone, under 66 14%Families with dependent children 24%Couples and families, no young children 39%Shared houses and other 2.6%

Against Kent’s towns and England’s towns

Rolvenden

Kent’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person34%

2 people37%

3 people12%

4 people13%

5 or more4.2%

England’s towns.

Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here.

Homes & cars

Rolvenden sits above 78% of UK towns for households in flats (18%)

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Rolvenden

Kent’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van12%

One45%

Two31%

Three or more12%

RolvendenKent’s townsEngland’s towns

With households in terraced houses at 19%, Rolvenden is behind 55% of UK towns on that count. As a reference point, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. The share of households in detached houses stands at 26%.

Where people were born

Only 3.6% of Rolvenden’s residents were born outside the UK

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%

Rolvenden

3.6%

Kent’s towns

13%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.9%

Another main language, little or no English0.3%

RolvendenKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Here 99% of residents have English as their main language, where the figure across England’s towns is 90%. Residents born outside the UK: 18% across England’s towns, for comparison.

Ethnicity & religion

Rolvenden sits below 85% of UK towns for residents with no religion (34%)

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

RolvendenKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White1.8%

Asian1.1%

Mixed0.9%

Black0.6%

Other0.4%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 95% of Rolvenden · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

RolvendenKent’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion34%

Christian57%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist1.1%

Other religion0.3%

Didn’t answer8%

0%35%70%

95% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 82% across Kent’s towns and 73% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion. The census found that 57% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Rolvenden.

Relationships & caring

Fewer unpaid carers than 95% of UK towns: 7.2%

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership30%

Married or civil partnership47%

Separated3.8%

Divorced12%

Widowed7.6%

RolvendenKent’s townsEngland’s towns

55residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 7.2%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week3.4%

20 to 49 hours1.8%

50 hours or more2%

Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Rolvenden has 47%. The comparison figure for unpaid carers is 8.7% across England’s towns. In Rolvenden, 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.

Qualifications

30% of adults are qualified to degree level

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications18%

Apprenticeship5%

A levels or similar19%

Degree level30%

RolvendenKent’s townsEngland’s towns

18% of Rolvenden’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 30% have one at degree level (34%).

Neighbours

3 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Rolvenden

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

BenendenTenterdenNorthiamBiddendenCranbrookHawkhurstWoodchurchRolvenden

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Rolvenden	813	—	49.1	27%	24%
Benenden	1,409	2.5 mi	29.7	18%	25%
Tenterden	7,775	3.1 mi	54.4	35%	20%
Northiam	1,910	3.9 mi	56.6	36%	19%
Biddenden	1,345	4.4 mi	44.1	21%	31%
Cranbrook	3,962	5.1 mi	45.3	24%	26%
Hawkhurst	3,683	5.3 mi	47	24%	26%
Woodchurch	1,201	6.5 mi	56.8	39%	22%

More about Rolvenden’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Rolvenden’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 Rolvenden’s residents

What is the population of Rolvenden?

The 2021 Census counted 813 people in Rolvenden’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Rolvenden?

The median age was 49.1 at the 2021 Census. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Rolvenden?

95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 3.6% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Rolvenden?

34% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8% didn’t answer.

Is Rolvenden good for families?

24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Rolvenden’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.