Figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday, show that when the census was taken in 2011, there were 115,048 people living in the borough.
But the latest data, which was collected on March 21 last year, reveals that in the last decade, the population in the borough has grown by just 252 people, with the number of people now living in Tunbridge Wells at 115,300.
This bucks the national trend that has seen the population of England and Wales increase by 6.3 per cent to 59.6 million – up from 56,489,800 in 2011.
More than 24 million households across England and Wales filled in census questionnaires in spring last year, with a record 89 per cent of responses completed online.
But the ONS has warned that because the 2021 survey came against the backdrop of Covid-19, population change in certain areas may reflect how the pandemic affected people’s choice of usual residence on Census Day.
Despite this, Tunbridge Wells is the only district in Kent that has not seen a significant increase in its population.
Tonbridge & Malling has seen the number of people in the borough rise from 120,805 by a massive 9.4 per cent to 132,200.
Sevenoaks has also seen the population in the district shoot up by nearly five per cent, from 114,893 in 2011 to 120,500 in 2021.
The county town of Maidstone has seen the population increase from 263,925 to 279,800.
And even rural Wealden in East Sussex there has been an increase of 7.5 per cent from 148,915 in 2011 to 160,100 now.
Yet the ONS has recorded a rise in population of just 0.2 per cent in Tunbridge Wells.
The census, taken every decade, is a crucial tool used by local authorities such as Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) and Kent County Council (KCC), along with the NHS, police and other organisations to plan services for the area, such as how many houses need to be built or how many school places need to be allocated.
Since the last census in 2011, organisations such as KCC have been estimating what the actual population is, with the last figure in 2020 suggesting the population in Tunbridge Wells had grown to 118,900.
But the reality is much lower and remains relatively unchanged in a decade.
The census data released on Tuesday also shows that the age of people in Tunbridge Wells.
The largest demographic group is aged 16-64 with 62 per cent of the population (71,500 people). With those over 65 making up 19.4 per cent of the population (22,400) and those under 16 making up 18.6 per cent (21,400).
Further information based on the census is set to be released by the ONS in the coming weeks.
This will include such things as occupation data, co-habiting arrangements as well as the religious make-up of the borough.
In 2011, 62.9 per cent of people in Tunbridge Wells claimed to be Christian, 26 per cent no religion, while 455 people identified as a ‘Jedi Knight’ and four people said they believed in ‘Heavy Metal’.
