Photo: Philip Jeffrey · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Kettering is under 39.6, younger than 82% of UK towns
73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, against 76% in Kettering. In 2021, the Census found 63,149 residents here, living in 26,403 households. Locally, 31% of households have dependent children. At 20%, the share of households without a car or van is higher than in 72% of UK towns.
Faster growth than 79% of UK towns: Kettering changed by +17% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Kettering’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 56,500 people in 2011; 65,800 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+25%) and the 16 to 29 group least (+6%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2022 to mid-2023, 1,390 people.
In Kettering, 17% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 82% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 11% here and 12% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 7.3% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Kettering, 39.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A larger share of full-time students than 68% of UK towns: 5.3%
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%.
29% of Kettering’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 31% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Locally, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Kettering households average 2.4 people, larger than in 70% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Northamptonshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
3.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, about the same as across England’s towns. The share of one-person households stands at 30%.
More flats than 75% of UK towns: 16% of households in Kettering
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
24% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 66% of UK towns. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns.
In Kettering, 88% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 94% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born outside the UK are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 18%. For residents whose main language is English, the comparison across England’s towns is 90%. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (9.5%) or in the Middle East and Asia (4.1%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 47%, a lower share than 69% 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: 76% of Kettering · Northamptonshire’s towns 77% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (10%), Indian (3.6%) and African (2.6%). More residents with no religion than in 53% of UK towns: 41%. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%.
Kettering ranks above 77% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 37%
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
Married adults and civil partners make up 44%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 1,547 residents. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in just over three quarters of UK towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 27% of Kettering’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 20% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 34 in Kettering Central East to 47 in Kettering East
The town’s 7 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Kettering East is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Kettering Central East the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Kettering Avondale Grange (36% of households).
49th lowest median age among 116 UK towns of 44,000 to 85,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Canterbury (27.5), the youngest, and Christchurch (51.7), the oldest. Nearest to Kettering in age: Scunthorpe (39.5), Boston (39.6), Welwyn Garden City (39.6) and Huyton with Roby (39.7).
5 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Kettering
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kettering | 63,149 | — | 39.6 | 17% | 31% |
| Burton Latimer | 10,440 | 2.9 mi | 38.4 | 16% | 34% |
| Geddington | 1,525 | 2.9 mi | 49.8 | 25% | 27% |
| Broughton | 1,982 | 3.2 mi | 48.1 | 24% | 24% |
| Rothwell | 8,623 | 3.8 mi | 41.7 | 21% | 27% |
| Mawsley Village | 2,487 | 4.5 mi | 37 | 8.3% | 49% |
| Finedon | 4,554 | 5 mi | 46.8 | 24% | 23% |
| Desborough | 11,899 | 5.4 mi | 42.3 | 20% | 30% |
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.
- “Northamptonshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Northamptonshire (or England), summed the same way as Kettering’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. Kettering’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 62,845 people in 2021, against 63,149 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 Kettering’s residents
What is the population of Kettering?
The 2021 Census counted 63,149 people in Kettering’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 65,800 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Kettering?
The median age was 39.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 82% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Kettering?
76% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 77% across Northamptonshire’s towns. 18% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Kettering?
41% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.1% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Kettering good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Kettering Avondale Grange (36% of households). Schools are on Kettering’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.