Kingsdown Mill · Photo: Daniel Bros, Lewisham · Public domainWest Kingsdown is older than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 52.1
24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, against 8.8% in West Kingsdown. At the 2021 Census, 4,306 people lived in the town, in 1,889 households. Households in detached houses: 43% of the total. More residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 83% of UK towns: 56%.
What the Census says about West Kingsdown’s people
Older than most towns
Half of West Kingsdown’s residents are under 52.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% 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) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
From 2011 to 2024, 75% of UK towns grew faster than West Kingsdown: +2%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. West Kingsdown’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,600 people in 2011; 4,700 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2013 to mid-2014: 90 people. By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+25%) and the 30 to 44 group least (−13%).
West Kingsdown sits above 92% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (30%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ West Kingsdown, 52.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In West Kingsdown, 3.6% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 93% 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%.
In West Kingsdown, 31% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The census found that 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in the town. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
A lower share of households with dependent children than 90% of UK towns, at 22%
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.
At 4.1%, shared households of unrelated adults sit close to the figure across England’s towns. Typically, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Households average 2.3 people.
Only 8.8% of households have no car or van in West Kingsdown
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
In West Kingsdown, 6.2% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. One household in every 11 has no car or van.
West Kingsdown sits above 70% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (98%)
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
Of residents born abroad, 11% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Locally, 5.5% of residents were born outside the UK.
Residents with no religion: 36%, a lower share than 76% 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: 91% of West Kingsdown · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (3.7%), African (1.2%) and Mixed or multiple (1.2%). Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Set against 73% across England’s towns, just over nine in ten residents describe themselves as White British in West Kingsdown.
Fewer adults who have never married than 85% of UK towns: 27%
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 142 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. West Kingsdown has more married adults and civil partners than 74% of UK towns, at 52%. Adults who have never married: 39% across England’s towns, for comparison. Unpaid carers: 10%, above just over three quarters of UK towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 22%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 22% of its adults qualified to degree level, West Kingsdown compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 25% hold no qualification (18%).
94th highest median age among 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.7 in Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe. Nearest to West Kingsdown in age: Castle Cary (51.9), Cleadon (52), Lanchester (52.2) and Carleton (52.2).
The towns around West Kingsdown are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Kingsdown | 4,306 | — | 52.1 | 30% | 22% |
| Eynsford | 1,676 | 2.3 mi | 51.3 | 27% | 23% |
| Farningham | 1,279 | 2.6 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 28% |
| Horton Kirby | 1,247 | 3.1 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 28% |
| Longfield, New Ash Green and Hartley | 16,077 | 3.4 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 27% |
| Wrotham | 1,961 | 3.4 mi | 46.2 | 22% | 30% |
| Otford and Kemsing | 7,332 | 3.6 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 33% |
| South Darenth and Sutton at Hone | 4,091 | 3.9 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 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 West Kingsdown’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. West Kingsdown’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,546 people in 2021, against 4,306 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 West Kingsdown’s residents
What is the population of West Kingsdown?
The 2021 Census counted 4,306 people in West Kingsdown’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,700 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in West Kingsdown?
The median age was 52.1 at the 2021 Census, older than 92% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Kingsdown?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 5.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Kingsdown?
36% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is West Kingsdown good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West Kingsdown’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.