Church of St Thomas · Photo: The Voice of Hassocks · CC0A family town: 33% of households have dependent children
With a median age of 41.9, Southborough is younger than 70% of UK towns. This Kent town had 9,632 residents in 3,992 households at the 2021 Census. For Southborough, the census puts residents who describe themselves as White British at 85%. Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; here, 2.4.
Below 83% of UK towns: 17% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Southborough, 41.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
5.6% of adults are full-time students, a share 77% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
In Southborough, 40% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 20% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. On the census count, 9.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. For full-time students, the comparison 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.
Southborough ranks below 63% of UK towns on shared households of unrelated adults: 2.1%
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.
29% of households are one person living alone (England’s towns: 30%). The share of shared households of unrelated adults across England’s towns is 4.3%.
A higher share of households in flats than 89% of UK towns, at 23%
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
Households without a car or van: 17%, above 61% of UK towns. 22% of households live in a detached house.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 78% of UK towns, at 11%
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 whose main language is English: 95% here and 90% across England’s towns. The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across England’s towns: 18%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (4.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (3.2%).
Residents with no religion make up 40% in Southborough, less than in 54% 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: 85% of Southborough · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (5.9%), Mixed or multiple (2.7%) and Indian (1.4%). To put it in context, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 49% here and 46% across England’s towns.
In Southborough, 8% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 83% 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
The figure for adults who have never married is 34% in Southborough and 39% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. For 184 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Degree-level qualifications reach 38% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 38% of adults in Southborough, 34% across England’s towns; 15% have no qualification, against 18%.
From a median age of 39 in High Brooms & Sherwood to 44 in Southborough East & Longfield Road
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Southborough East & Longfield Road is the oldest area, with 21% aged 65 or over; High Brooms & Sherwood the youngest (median age 39). Families with children are most common in High Brooms & Sherwood (37% of households).
Ranked by age, 118th youngest of 413 UK towns this size
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 Tidworth (28.4), the youngest, and Seaton (61), the oldest. Nearest to Southborough in age: Polesworth and Dordon (41.9), Sandy (41.9), Street (41.9) and Annfield Plain (42).
Around Southborough, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southborough | 9,632 | — | 41.9 | 17% | 33% |
| Royal Tunbridge Wells | 51,215 | 1.5 mi | 40.1 | 16% | 30% |
| Rusthall and Langton Green | 7,783 | 2.1 mi | 45.1 | 23% | 32% |
| Pembury | 5,783 | 3 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 28% |
| Tonbridge | 36,136 | 3.2 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 31% |
| Leigh | 1,104 | 3.3 mi | 48.2 | 24% | 30% |
| Hildenborough | 4,943 | 3.8 mi | 47.5 | 24% | 33% |
| Five Oak Green | 1,436 | 4.4 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 31% |
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 Southborough’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 Southborough’s residents
What is the population of Southborough?
The 2021 Census counted 9,632 people in Southborough’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Southborough?
The median age was 41.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 70% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Southborough?
85% 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 Southborough?
40% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.9% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Southborough good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in High Brooms & Sherwood (37% of households). Schools are on Southborough’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) · 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.