Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Sittingbourne is younger than 87% of UK towns: a median age of 38.6
In Sittingbourne, a third of households have dependent children, beside 29% across England’s towns. Census day 2021: 54,385 residents and 21,523 households locally. Locally, 26% of households are one person living alone. 31% of households live in a terraced house, a higher share than in 84% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Sittingbourne’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Sittingbourne’s residents are under 38.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 17% 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 +13% change since 2011: faster than 72% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Sittingbourne’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 48,800 people in 2011; 55,300 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2023 to mid-2024: 1,100. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+25%) and 16 to 29 least (+1%).
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 87% of UK towns: 11%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
17% of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The largest age band is 30–34: 7.5% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Sittingbourne, 38.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A larger share of full-time students than 67% of UK towns: 5.2%
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%.
8.2% of residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
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 91% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 3.2% here and 4.3% across England’s towns.
Fewer households in detached houses than 78% of UK towns: 18%
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
14% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. Locally, 17% of households have no car or van. The usual figure: 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 11% in Sittingbourne, more than in 77% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (5.9%), then in Africa (2.3%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 94% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 81% of UK towns. Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 15% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns.
84% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 79% 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: 84% of Sittingbourne · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 46% across England’s towns, 48% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Sittingbourne. Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Locally, 45% of residents said they have no religion.
Sittingbourne: 37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, above 78% 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
Some 1,646 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Across the comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. At 45%, the share of married adults and civil partners is lower than in 69% of UK towns. Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 9.1%, from the figure across England’s towns.
23% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Sittingbourne counts 23% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 21% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 30 in Teynham & Badlesmere to 45 in Sittingbourne South, Bapchild & Bredgar
The town’s 7 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Sittingbourne South, Bapchild & Bredgar is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Teynham & Badlesmere the youngest (median age 30). Families with children are most common in Teynham & Badlesmere (53% of households).
123 UK towns of 38,000 to 73,000 people: this is the 32nd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Canterbury (27.5), the youngest, and Lytham St Anne's (54.4), the oldest. Nearest to Sittingbourne in age: Oldbury (38.4), Wellingborough (38.6), Castleford (38.7) and Rochester (38.8).
Around Sittingbourne, 5 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sittingbourne | 54,385 | — | 38.6 | 17% | 33% |
| Iwade | 4,533 | 2.3 mi | 36.1 | 11% | 45% |
| Teynham | 3,128 | 2.9 mi | 39.7 | 20% | 30% |
| Newington | 2,691 | 3.2 mi | 39.1 | 19% | 30% |
| Lower Halstow | 1,210 | 3.7 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 26% |
| Upchurch | 1,727 | 4.6 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 25% |
| Queenborough | 3,915 | 5 mi | 35.8 | 16% | 33% |
| Halfway Houses | 4,396 | 5.7 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 26% |
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 Sittingbourne’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. Sittingbourne’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 52,540 people in 2021, against 54,385 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 Sittingbourne’s residents
What is the population of Sittingbourne?
The 2021 Census counted 54,385 people in Sittingbourne’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 55,300 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Sittingbourne?
The median age was 38.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 87% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sittingbourne?
84% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sittingbourne?
45% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Sittingbourne good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Teynham & Badlesmere (53% of households). Schools are on Sittingbourne’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.