Photo: David Long · CC BY-SA 2.0Below 99% of UK towns: 3.5% of households live in a terraced house
The share of one-person households trails 89% of UK towns: 24%. Rough Common’s 451 households held 1,291 residents at the 2021 Census. Locally, nearly four in five residents describe themselves as White British. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are common here: 39%, more than in nearly three quarters of UK towns.
What the Census says about Rough Common’s people
A village people move to
16% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns, and 2.4% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Half of Rough Common is under 42.5, younger than 66% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 10–14 than any other five-year age: 11% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Here, 24% of residents are 65 or over.
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.
16% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 97% 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%.
The figure for full-time students is 10% in Rough Common and 7.9% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 11% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.5 people per household, more than in 86% 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.
5.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, about the same as across England’s towns. Here, 27% of households have dependent children.
Only 13% of households in Rough Common have no car or van
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
Where 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Rough Common has 12%. Every 8th household or so has no car or van.
Only 94% of residents have English as their main language in Rough Common
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
Arrivals from 2017 on account for 33% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns. The benchmark for residents whose main language is English across England’s towns: 90%. On the census count, 17% of residents were born outside the UK.
Rough Common sits below 67% of UK towns for residents with no religion (38%)
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: 79% of Rough Common · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (8.5%), Mixed or multiple (2.7%) and African (2.5%). Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion. Lower than in just over half of UK towns: 50% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
Above 70% of UK towns: 51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
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
Some 28 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. The usual figure: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. More adults who have never married than in 57% of UK towns: 34%. Add to that, by its share of unpaid carers (10%), Rough Common is above nearly three quarters of UK towns.
46% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 46% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 12% hold no qualification (18%). Many still at university: 17% list A levels as their highest qualification.
Nearby, 5 of 7 towns have older populations than Rough Common
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rough Common | 1,291 | — | 42.5 | 24% | 27% |
| Blean | 1,327 | 1.1 mi | 52.3 | 32% | 22% |
| Canterbury | 55,107 | 1.6 mi | 27.5 | 13% | 24% |
| Chartham | 3,569 | 3.3 mi | 37.6 | 13% | 37% |
| Sturry | 4,857 | 3.4 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 27% |
| Boughton under Blean | 2,274 | 3.9 mi | 46.1 | 23% | 28% |
| Whitstable | 32,185 | 4.1 mi | 51.3 | 29% | 23% |
| Bridge | 1,539 | 4.6 mi | 52.6 | 32% | 25% |
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 Rough Common’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 Rough Common’s residents
What is the population of Rough Common?
The 2021 Census counted 1,291 people in Rough Common’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Rough Common?
The median age was 42.5 at the 2021 Census. 13% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rough Common?
79% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 17% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Rough Common?
38% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.6% were Muslim and 8.7% didn’t answer.
Is Rough Common good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Rough Common’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.