Photo: Phil Brandon Hunter · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Tenterden is over 54.4, older than 96% of UK towns
By its share of households in detached houses (42%), Tenterden is above 79% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 7,775 people lived in the town, in 3,601 households. For Tenterden, the census puts households with dependent children at 20%. Fewer adults who have never married than in 84% of UK towns: 27%.
What the Census says about Tenterden’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Tenterden’s residents are under 54.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 35% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 97% of UK towns, at 35%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Here, 9.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Tenterden, 54.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 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.
Full-time students: 4%, a lower share than 85% 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%.
There is little gap on residents who moved in within the year: 11%, about the same as across England’s towns. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 85% 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.
With one-person households at 32%, Tenterden is ahead of 67% of UK towns on that count. Across Tenterden, 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Below 72% of UK towns: 15% of households live in a terraced house
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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 15% of households live in a flat or apartment in Tenterden. Households without a car or van are rarer here than in 51% of UK towns. To put it in context, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
99% of residents have English as their main language, a share 70% of UK towns don’t reach
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 (2.9%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). Set beside that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 6.3% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 50% of UK towns. Of residents born abroad, 11% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
55% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 81% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 93% of Tenterden · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and African (0.3%). Tenterden has more residents who describe themselves as White British than nearly three fifths of UK towns, at 93%. Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Tenterden comes in at 38%.
Tenterden ranks above 72% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 52%
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
222 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. By way of comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 9.8%, more than in 63% of UK towns.
31% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Tenterden, 17%, while 31% hold one at degree level (34%).
Among 538 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000 people, the 28th oldest
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 Red Lodge (30.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Tenterden in age: Bolton-le-Sands (53.9), Dartmouth (54.3), Bovey Tracey (54.4) and Hornsea (54.6).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Tenterden
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenterden | 7,775 | — | 54.4 | 35% | 20% |
| Woodchurch | 1,201 | 3.6 mi | 56.8 | 39% | 22% |
| Biddenden | 1,345 | 3.7 mi | 44.1 | 21% | 31% |
| Bethersden | 1,008 | 4.5 mi | 50.8 | 28% | 24% |
| Benenden | 1,409 | 5 mi | 29.7 | 18% | 25% |
| Shadoxhurst | 1,009 | 6 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 26% |
| Northiam | 1,910 | 6.5 mi | 56.6 | 36% | 19% |
| Cranbrook | 3,962 | 7 mi | 45.3 | 24% | 26% |
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 Tenterden’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 Tenterden’s residents
What is the population of Tenterden?
The 2021 Census counted 7,775 people in Tenterden’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Tenterden?
The median age was 54.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 96% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 35% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Tenterden?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Tenterden?
38% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Tenterden good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Tenterden’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.