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49.1Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Wye sits below 98% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (7.2%)

The share of shared households of unrelated adults trails 96% of UK towns: 1.4%. At 31%, the share of households in terraced houses is higher than in 84% of UK towns. There were 961 households in Wye at the 2021 Census, home to 2,064 residents. 26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.

29%aged 65 or over 11%born abroad 961households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Wye’s people

29%of residents are 65 or over; England’s towns 18%

Many older residents

29% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 89% of UK towns; 25% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓

Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).

Ages

More residents aged 65 and over than 89% of UK towns: 29%

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

WyeEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

With a median age of 49.1, Wye is older than four fifths of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In St Mary's Bay, the oldest of Kent’s towns by this measure, it is 42%.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1518%

15 to 247.2%

25 to 4419%

45 to 6427%

65 and over29%

WyeKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

54% women, 46% men

Wye

England

WomenMen

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.

Students & newcomers

Only 4.1% of adults are full-time students in Wye

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

Full-time students4.1%

Higher managerial and professional21%

Lower managerial and professional24%

Intermediate11%

Small employers and self-employed12%

Supervisory and technical4.3%

Semi-routine8.6%

Routine8.2%

Never worked or long-term unemployed5.5%

WyeKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Wye

8.5%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

167

residents, 8.2%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.6× England’s share

8.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

One-person households make up 39% in Wye, more than in 98% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 25%Living alone, under 66 13%Families with dependent children 25%Couples and families, no young children 34%Shared houses and other 1.4%

Against Kent’s towns and England’s towns

Wye

Kent’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person39%

2 people33%

3 people12%

4 people13%

5 or more4.5%

England’s towns.

Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Wye, 25%. For one-person households, the comparison across England’s towns is 30%. A household here holds 2.1 people on average.

Homes & cars

Households without a car or van make up 20% in Wye, more than in 72% of UK towns

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Wye

Kent’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van20%

One49%

Two24%

Three or more6.5%

WyeKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Compared with 21% across England’s towns, 26% of households live in a detached house here. Households without a car or van: 24% across England’s towns, for comparison. Here, 15% of households live in a flat or apartment.

Where people were born

Wye sits above 77% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (11%)

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%

Wye

11%

Kent’s towns

13%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

WyeEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language98%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.4%

Another main language, little or no English0.3%

WyeKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Of residents born abroad, 8.3% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. Locally, 98% of residents have English as their main language. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 69% of UK towns, at 89%

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

WyeKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White5.4%

Asian2.5%

Mixed1.8%

Black1.2%

Other0.4%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 89% of Wye · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

WyeKent’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion41%

Christian51%

Muslim1.1%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist1.2%

Other religion0.4%

Didn’t answer5.3%

0%30%60%

1.1% of residents are Muslim. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns: 73%. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as Christian: 51% here, more than in 59% of UK towns. Residents with no religion: 41% here and 37% across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

Above 60% of UK towns: 9.7% of residents give unpaid care

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership26%

Married or civil partnership48%

Separated2.5%

Divorced12%

Widowed12%

WyeKent’s townsEngland’s towns

191residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 9.7%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week6.1%

20 to 49 hours1.5%

50 hours or more2.2%

Across Wye, 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Elsewhere, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.

Qualifications

A degree-level qualification for 46% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications16%

Apprenticeship2.5%

A levels or similar12%

Degree level46%

WyeKent’s townsEngland’s towns

Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Wye, 46%, and 16% have none, against 18%.

Neighbours

Wye and its 7 nearest towns: 2 of them are older

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

ChallockAshfordBrabourne LeesFinberryCharthamAldingtonCharingWye

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Wye	2,064	—	49.1	29%	25%
Challock	1,089	3.6 mi	46.1	22%	31%
Ashford	82,143	4 mi	37.2	15%	35%
Brabourne Lees	1,479	4.4 mi	51.2	29%	24%
Finberry	1,571	4.8 mi	30.3	4.1%	47%
Chartham	3,569	5.9 mi	37.6	13%	37%
Aldington	1,280	6.3 mi	43.3	22%	33%
Charing	2,170	6.4 mi	50.3	28%	25%

More about Wye’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health BLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute B⁻Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living C⁻Owners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools A⁻Every primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Wye’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 Wye’s residents

What is the population of Wye?

The 2021 Census counted 2,064 people in Wye’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Wye?

The median age was 49.1 at the 2021 Census. 7.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Wye?

89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Wye?

41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.

Is Wye good for families?

25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wye’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.