Photo: Oast House Archive · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 26% of households are one person living alone in Whitfield
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 14% of households live in a terraced house in Whitfield. 6,509 residents in 2,698 households: that is Whitfield at the 2021 Census. Households in detached houses account for 38%. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 68% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Whitfield’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Whitfield at 5,100 in 2011 and 6,600 in 2024, up 28%, 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.
Faster growth than 93% of UK towns: Whitfield changed by +28% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Whitfield’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,100 people in 2011; 6,600 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+51%) and the 45 to 64 least (+10%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2022 to mid-2023: 290 people.
In Whitfield, 9.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 52% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 50–54: 6.6% of residents. Half of Whitfield’s residents are over 44.7, older than in just over half of UK towns. For comparison, 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+
■ Whitfield, 44.7. 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. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
5% of adults are full-time students, more than in 58% 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%.
One in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 76% of UK towns: 2.4 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.5%, above 56% of UK towns. On top of that, households with dependent children are more common here than in 57% of UK towns.
Above 59% of UK towns: 13% of households live in a flat or apartment
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 census found that 15% of households have no car or van in Whitfield. Households in flats make up 23% across England’s towns.
More residents born abroad than 53% of UK towns: 6.7% in Whitfield
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.2%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.9%). 98% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 53% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK. Arrivals from 2017 on account for 5.8% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns.
Whitfield ranks above 66% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 52%
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: 94% of Whitfield · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.8%). Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 40%, fewer than in 59% of UK towns. The wider picture: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 94% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 82% across Kent’s towns and 73% across England’s towns.
Below 65% of UK towns: 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
One in ten residents give unpaid care; across England’s towns the figure is 8.7%. Locally, half of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Across the comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
22% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Whitfield counts 22% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 21% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 34 in Buckland & St Radigunds to 54 in Eythorne & Shepherdswell
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.
Eythorne & Shepherdswell is the oldest area, with 34% aged 65 or over; Buckland & St Radigunds the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Buckland & St Radigunds (38% of households).
Ranked by age, 209th youngest of 473 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Red Lodge is the youngest (30.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Whitfield in age: Willington (44.7), Newent (44.7), Milford and Witley (44.7) and East Cowes (44.7).
Older than Whitfield: 5 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitfield | 6,509 | — | 44.7 | 24% | 28% |
| Guston | 1,684 | 1.7 mi | 25.5 | 6.9% | 49% |
| Dover | 36,349 | 1.8 mi | 40 | 18% | 28% |
| Eythorne | 1,487 | 3.1 mi | 51.6 | 25% | 22% |
| Sibertswold | 1,619 | 3.4 mi | 54.3 | 32% | 23% |
| St Margaret's at Cliffe | 2,399 | 3.7 mi | 57 | 36% | 18% |
| Kingsdown | 1,687 | 4.8 mi | 60.8 | 41% | 17% |
| Capel-le-Ferne | 1,962 | 5.2 mi | 59.8 | 40% | 14% |
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 Whitfield’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. Whitfield’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,897 people in 2021, against 6,509 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 Whitfield’s residents
What is the population of Whitfield?
The 2021 Census counted 6,509 people in Whitfield’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,600 people in mid-2024, 28% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Whitfield?
The median age was 44.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 51% of UK towns. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Whitfield?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 6.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Whitfield?
40% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Whitfield good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Buckland & St Radigunds (38% of households). Schools are on Whitfield’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 · 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.