Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 52.6: Long Sutton is older than 93% of UK towns
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 58%, against 46% across England’s towns. The share of households with dependent children stands at 20%. Compared with other places, households in terraced houses are scarce here: 9.7%, fewer than in 90% of UK towns. There were 2,472 households in Long Sutton at the 2021 Census, home to 5,377 residents.
What the Census says about Long Sutton’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Long Sutton’s residents are under 52.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 34% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Growth of +9% since 2011 puts Long Sutton ahead of 57% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Long Sutton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,500 people in 2011; 6,000 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 0 to 15 changed most (+25%) and 30 to 44 least (−2%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2022: 120 more people.
34% of Long Sutton is 65 or over, a higher share than 96% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (8.2%), Long Sutton is below 91% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Long Sutton, 52.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
Full-time students make up 2.8% in Long Sutton, less than in 99% of UK towns
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 23% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 34% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%. Residents who moved in within the year: nearly a tenth of the total.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 90% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Lincolnshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
2.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home (England’s towns: 4.3%). Census figures put one-person households at 33% in Long Sutton.
Above 95% of UK towns: 57% of households live in a detached house
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
By its share of households in flats (4.4%), Long Sutton is below 86% of UK towns. As a yardstick, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. For Long Sutton, the census puts households without a car or van at 14%.
Fewer residents whose main language is English than 65% of UK towns: 97%
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
14% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. As a reference point, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%).
In Long Sutton, 34% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 85% 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: 94% of Long Sutton · Lincolnshire’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, against 94% in Long Sutton. To put it in context, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (3.3%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Indian (0.4%).
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 90% of UK towns: 26%
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
Half of adults are married or in a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 44%. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. Locally, 10% of residents give unpaid care.
Degree-level qualifications: 16% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Long Sutton, 28%, while 16% hold one at degree level (34%).
516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people: this is the 51st oldest
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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Long Sutton in age: Tenby (52.4), Rye (52.5), Winchcombe (52.6) and Wareham (52.6).
Long Sutton and its 7 nearest towns: 1 of them are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Sutton | 5,377 | — | 52.6 | 34% | 20% |
| Fleet Hargate | 1,270 | 2.6 mi | 56.4 | 36% | 17% |
| Sutton Bridge | 3,912 | 2.9 mi | 43.7 | 23% | 26% |
| Sutton St James | 1,027 | 3.7 mi | 47.7 | 23% | 28% |
| Holbeach | 8,757 | 4.6 mi | 46.8 | 26% | 25% |
| Walpole St Peter and Walpole St Andrew | 1,574 | 5.9 mi | 46.9 | 21% | 29% |
| Whaplode | 1,106 | 6.5 mi | 52.1 | 30% | 20% |
| Gorefield | 1,070 | 7 mi | 50.2 | 29% | 24% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Lincolnshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Lincolnshire (or England), summed the same way as Long Sutton’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. Long Sutton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,805 people in 2021, against 5,377 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 Long Sutton’s residents
What is the population of Long Sutton?
The 2021 Census counted 5,377 people in Long Sutton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,000 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Long Sutton?
The median age was 52.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 93% of UK towns. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Long Sutton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Lincolnshire’s towns. 6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Long Sutton?
34% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is Long Sutton good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Long Sutton’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. 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.