Photo: Poliphilo · CC0Older than 99% of UK towns: half of Teston is over 60
Nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, against 1.7% in Teston. Here, 13% of households have dependent children. Fewer adults who have never married than in 98% of UK towns: 22%. Census day 2021: 636 residents and 295 households in the village.
Teston sits above 99% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (40%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Young people aged 15 to 24 make up 6.2% of residents, against 12% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
Only 3% of adults are full-time students in Teston
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 41% of Teston’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 18%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 6.9% here. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
Smaller households than 89% of UK towns: 2.1 people on average
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.
The share of one-person households is 28%, against 30% across England’s towns. 2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, a higher share than in 52% of UK towns.
Only 9% of households in Teston 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
41% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. On average, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. The census found that 16% of households live in a flat or apartment in Teston.
Teston sits above 73% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns the share born abroad is 18%; in Teston it is 7.5%. As a yardstick, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.3%) and in Africa (2%).
Above 93% of UK towns: 59% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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 Teston · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and African (0.6%). Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46% across England’s towns, for comparison. 34% of residents said they have no religion, a lower share than in 86% of UK towns. Still, across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%; Teston has 93%.
More unpaid carers than 99% of UK towns: 13% of residents
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
Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Teston has 61%. Elsewhere, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
33% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 33% of adults in Teston, 34% across England’s towns; 16% have no qualification, against 18%.
Every neighbour of Teston has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teston | 636 | — | 60 | 40% | 13% |
| Wateringbury | 2,248 | 0.8 mi | 48.7 | 23% | 26% |
| Kings Hill | 9,963 | 1.8 mi | 40.1 | 12% | 47% |
| Yalding | 1,549 | 2 mi | 46.5 | 22% | 28% |
| Larkfield | 26,147 | 3.2 mi | 42 | 20% | 32% |
| Coxheath | 8,453 | 3.2 mi | 44.3 | 23% | 29% |
| West Malling | 4,251 | 3.2 mi | 39.1 | 19% | 31% |
| East Peckham | 2,144 | 3.7 mi | 47.7 | 26% | 29% |
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 Teston’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 Teston’s residents
What is the population of Teston?
The 2021 Census counted 636 people in Teston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Teston?
The median age was 60 at the 2021 Census. 6.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 40% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Teston?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 7.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Teston?
34% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Teston good for families?
13% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Teston’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.