Photo: Evelyn Simak · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer flats than 93% of UK towns: 2.9% of households
The median age in Gillingham is 49.9, higher than in 84% of UK towns. On the census count, 6.1% of residents give unpaid care. The village is home to 697 residents in 313 households, by the 2021 Census. Households with dependent children: 24%, below nearly four fifths of UK towns.
30% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 90% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: 8.6% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Locally, 8.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 3.2% of adults are full-time students in Gillingham
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 8.5% here and 11% across England’s towns. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Gillingham sits below 72% of UK towns for one-person households (27%)
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Norfolk’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. One-person households make up 30% across England’s towns. Households here average 2.2 people each.
Only 8.1% of households have no car or van in Gillingham
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
Detached houses are home to 47% of households, against 21% across England’s towns. One household in every 12 has no car or van. At 20%, the share of households in terraced houses is lower than in 50% of UK towns.
In Gillingham, 3.3% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 87% of UK towns
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.6%). At 99%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in 95% of UK towns. The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion: 48%, a higher share than 89% 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: 95% of Gillingham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
45% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Locally, 95% of residents describe themselves as White British. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%.
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 78% of UK towns: 28%
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 9. 51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 67% of UK towns. On average, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
31% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Gillingham, 31% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 19% have no qualification at all (18%).
Gillingham is younger than 3 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillingham | 697 | — | 49.9 | 30% | 24% |
| Beccles | 9,807 | 1.7 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 22% |
| Worlingham | 3,618 | 2.4 mi | 50.1 | 29% | 24% |
| Thurlton | 1,145 | 4 mi | 49.4 | 24% | 27% |
| Ditchingham | 1,997 | 4.3 mi | 51.2 | 31% | 19% |
| Bungay | 5,012 | 4.6 mi | 49.2 | 29% | 23% |
| Loddon | 2,247 | 5.2 mi | 44.2 | 22% | 26% |
| Chedgrave | 1,053 | 5.7 mi | 57 | 39% | 20% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Norfolk’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Norfolk (or England), summed the same way as Gillingham’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 Gillingham’s residents
What is the population of Gillingham?
The 2021 Census counted 697 people in Gillingham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Gillingham?
The median age was 49.9 at the 2021 Census. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Gillingham?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 3.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Gillingham?
48% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Gillingham good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Gillingham’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.