Photo: David Pashley · CC BY-SA 2.031% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 92% of UK towns
Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 1.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. Residents who describe themselves as White British account for 96%. On households with dependent children, Aylsham sits lower than 76% of UK towns: 25%. The 2021 Census counted 7,183 residents in 3,319 households.
What the Census says about Aylsham’s people
Many older residents
31% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 92% of UK towns; 20% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Aylsham at 5,800 in 2011 and 7,400 in 2024, up 28%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 93% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Since 2011, Aylsham has grown +28%, faster than 93% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Aylsham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,800 people in 2011; 7,400 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+47%) and the 45 to 64 least (+9%). Mid-2016 to mid-2017 brought the biggest yearly rise, 320 people.
A median age of 49.9: Aylsham is older than 84% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: 8.8% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 82% of UK towns: 8.7%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Aylsham, 49.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
A smaller share of full-time students than 79% of UK towns: 4.1%
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%.
By class, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns. Locally, 8.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Smaller households than 86% of UK towns: 2.1 people on average
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.
A third of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns.
In Aylsham, 13% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 79% of UK towns
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
Here nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. On average, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. In Aylsham, 40% of households live in a detached house.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 94% of UK towns, at 99%
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
Of residents born abroad, 11% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. Across Aylsham, 4% of residents were born outside the UK. The benchmark for residents whose main language is English across England’s towns: 90%.
42% said they have no religion, more than in 60% 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: 96% of Aylsham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and African (0.2%). For comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Here half of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across England’s towns is 46%.
Adults who have never married make up 27% in Aylsham, less than in 84% of UK towns
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
Unpaid carers make up 9.9% of residents, against 8.7% across England’s towns. Census figures put married adults and civil partners at 51% in Aylsham. Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Among adults, 29% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Aylsham, 29%, and 18% have none, against 18%.
Of 538 UK towns its size (5,000 to 10,000 people), the 94th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Red Lodge is the youngest (30.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Aylsham in age: Hindhead (49.7), Pershore (49.8), Brightlingsea (49.9) and East Horsley (49.9).
Median age: 3 of the 7 towns around Aylsham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aylsham | 7,183 | — | 49.9 | 31% | 25% |
| Hevingham | 1,039 | 3.4 mi | 43.8 | 18% | 33% |
| Cawston | 1,114 | 3.9 mi | 47.8 | 23% | 26% |
| Badersfield | 1,490 | 4.4 mi | 37.9 | 12% | 40% |
| Reepham | 2,317 | 6 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 24% |
| North Walsham | 12,829 | 6.1 mi | 50.2 | 29% | 21% |
| Horsford | 4,396 | 6.3 mi | 38.8 | 16% | 34% |
| Coltishall and Horstead | 2,255 | 6.4 mi | 51.7 | 30% | 23% |
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 Aylsham’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. Aylsham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 7,341 people in 2021, against 7,183 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 Aylsham’s residents
What is the population of Aylsham?
The 2021 Census counted 7,183 people in Aylsham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 7,400 people in mid-2024, 28% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Aylsham?
The median age was 49.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 84% of UK towns. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Aylsham?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Aylsham?
42% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Aylsham good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Aylsham’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.