Almost a quarter of Kent households contain adults still living with their parents, new data reveals.

Figures produced following the latest census also reveal that more children in the county have same-sex or single parents.

Countywide, 22% of households are home to people living alongside their adult children – but this rises to more than a quarter of families in Gravesham, which has the highest rate of any Kent district.

In terms of change since this data was last collected in 2011, Ashford is at the top of the pile with a 28% increase in adult children remaining in the family home.

The data also reveals that boys are more likely to be living with mum and dad than girls, with about three male adult children living at home for every two women.

MP for Ashford Damian Green has suggested the reason for such a rise in his constituency is an increase in property prices, which he blames on increased demand.

“Housing in Ashford has become more expensive because so many people want to live here,” Mr Green said.

“This of course has a knock-on effect on local people trying to get on the housing ladder, so it shows why large-scale developments like Chilmington are necessary, however controversial they always are at the start.”

The Chilmington Green garden town planned for Ashford will eventually have almost 6,000 new homes.

“A controlled building of high-quality houses is needed to allow people to make their own home, and these figures show why this is more necessary than ever.”

Among those who have struggled to get on the housing ladder is Luke Eagle, who spoke to KentOnline in September.

Still living in his childhood home in Northfleet aged 22 after moving back from university, he said: “I have not thought about moving out. I have not had much money to save for a deposit and renting is just throwing money away.”

Another way Kent families have changed in the last decade is the increasing number of children being raised by single parents.

11% of households are now home to children being raised by a lone parent, compared to 7% in 2011.

The number of children being raised by single parents has increased across every Kent district since the last census.

The area which has seen the biggest rise is Sevenoaks where there are 40% more lone parent households than there were 10 years ago.

Of those single parents, there are 10 mothers raising their children alone to every one father.

Geographically, the data revealed that both single mothers and single fathers are most likely to live in the Thanet area.

These aren’t the only areas in which family life in Kent has changed since 2011. It is also likely that significantly more children in the county are growing up with LGBTQ+ parents.

While the 2011 census failed to fully record same-sex families with children, research in the intervening years suggests the number of LGBTQ+ people choosing to start a family has been growing nationally year on year.

This certainly seems to be the case in Kent where more than 1,000 households are now home to same-sex families with children.

Jonathan Fitter-Harding, director of Canterbury Pride and an LGBTQ+ adoption advocate, said he thinks more same-sex couples are able to consider starting a family as it has become more widely accepted in society.

He said: “I think more LGBTQ+ people are having kids because the information is more readily available and I think it's just more widely accepted in society. I know in my children’s class there is another same-sex family as well as people like Tom Daley being out there as a gay parent has helped.

“As a society we’ve made progress. Me, my husband and our kids don’t really get looked at any differently. We do sometimes get some funny comments, things like ‘is it mummy’s day off today?’ or if I’m with my husband people ask if our wives are off shopping, but I know it's mostly just people making assumptions not being horrible.

“Kent adoption and fostering always come to our Pride and they find that they get a really good response. At Pride they will have LGBTQ+ people there who have adopted and it gives people the opportunity to find out more about what it is like to be same-sex parents.”

The father-of-two continued: “We just want everyone to have the choice to be a parent available to them and give some of the children, who don’t have parents able to look after them, that opportunity.

“It’s about having the same opportunities as everybody else, that is all the fight is for and if we can have that then I think we will be living in a much better society.”