Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Below 96% of UK towns: 22% of households are one person living alone
Households without a car or van make up 9.7%, against 24% across England’s towns. Census figures put households with dependent children at 31% in Staplehurst. 52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a higher share than in 76% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 6,181 residents here, living in 2,480 households.
What the Census says about Staplehurst’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Staplehurst at 5,900 in 2011 and 7,600 in 2024, up 29%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 93% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Staplehurst grew +29% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 93% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Staplehurst’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,900 people in 2011; 7,600 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2021 to mid-2022, up 390 people. The 65 and over age group moved most (+51%); the 45 to 64 group moved least (+7%).
Staplehurst: 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24, above 81% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 7.7% of residents. With a median age of 44.9, Staplehurst is older than 53% of UK towns. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In St Mary's Bay, the oldest of Kent’s towns by this measure, it is 42%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Staplehurst, 44.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year: 11%, a higher share than 88% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 39% of Staplehurst’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 20%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The census found that 5% of adults are full-time students in the town.
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.
Where 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, Staplehurst has 3%.
Households in flats: 4.5%, a lower share than 86% 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
The share of households in terraced houses tops 56% of UK towns: 22%. To put it in context, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. 30% of households live in a detached house.
In Staplehurst, 7.3% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 58% 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
Arrivals from 2017 on account for 12% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns. Staplehurst has fewer residents whose main language is English than 60% of UK towns, at 97%. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.8%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 90%, a lower share than 64% 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: 90% of Staplehurst · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (4.5%), Mixed or multiple (2%) and Indian (0.7%). For comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Higher than in 63% of UK towns: 52% of residents describe themselves as Christian. By contrast, across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%; Staplehurst has 41%.
Adults who have never married: 30%, a lower share than 65% 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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 129 people. At 8.8%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in 67% of UK towns. On average, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 31%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Staplehurst counts 31% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 15% have no qualification (18%).
624 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people: this is the 271st 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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Staplehurst in age: Chipstead and Woodmansterne (44.9), Paddock Wood (44.9), Cwmavon (44.9) and Sowerby (45).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 4 are older than Staplehurst
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staplehurst | 6,181 | — | 44.9 | 22% | 31% |
| Marden | 3,489 | 2.6 mi | 38.5 | 18% | 32% |
| Headcorn | 3,293 | 3.3 mi | 45.2 | 25% | 29% |
| Sutton Valence | 1,457 | 3.8 mi | 45.8 | 21% | 28% |
| Cranbrook | 3,962 | 4.9 mi | 45.3 | 24% | 26% |
| Coxheath | 8,453 | 5 mi | 44.3 | 23% | 29% |
| Biddenden | 1,345 | 5.2 mi | 44.1 | 21% | 31% |
| Horsmonden | 1,580 | 5.5 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 30% |
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 Staplehurst’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. Staplehurst’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,696 people in 2021, against 6,181 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 Staplehurst’s residents
What is the population of Staplehurst?
The 2021 Census counted 6,181 people in Staplehurst’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 7,600 people in mid-2024, 29% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Staplehurst?
The median age was 44.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 53% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Staplehurst?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 7.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Staplehurst?
41% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Staplehurst good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Staplehurst’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. 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.