Photo: Evelyn Simak · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 5.5% of households have no car or van in Bawdeswell
52% of households live in a detached house; across England’s towns the figure is 21%. Locally, 96% of residents describe themselves as White British. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 86% of UK towns: 8.5%. Bawdeswell counted 869 residents and 383 households at the 2021 Census.
Bawdeswell is older than 76% of UK towns: a median age of 48.4
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: 9% of residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. Locally, 26% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
3.2% of adults are full-time students, below 98% 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%.
11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, against 13% in Bawdeswell. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
A lower share of households with dependent children than 84% of UK towns, at 23%
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.
The share of one-person households is 27%, against 30% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 65% of UK towns. Against that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Households here average 2.3 people each.
Few flats: only 3.1% of households in Bawdeswell live in one
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
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house; in Bawdeswell, 11%. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns.
Only 4% of residents were born outside the UK in Bawdeswell
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.5%). Residents whose main language is English are more common here than in 62% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Above 70% of UK towns: 44% of residents said they have no religion
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 Bawdeswell · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.5%), Indian (0.2%) and Pakistani (0.1%). Residents who describe themselves as Christian are more common here than in 56% of UK towns. The benchmark for residents with no religion across England’s towns: 37%.
29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 76% 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
52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. For comparison, 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 23 residents.
Qualified to degree level: 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
25% of Bawdeswell’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 19% have none (18%).
Bawdeswell is younger than 4 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bawdeswell | 869 | — | 48.4 | 26% | 23% |
| Foulsham | 1,025 | 2.7 mi | 48.5 | 23% | 23% |
| Swanton Morley | 2,175 | 2.8 mi | 41.5 | 24% | 28% |
| North Elmham | 1,172 | 3.6 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 22% |
| Reepham | 2,317 | 3.7 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 24% |
| Cawston | 1,114 | 5.9 mi | 47.8 | 23% | 26% |
| Mattishall | 2,203 | 6 mi | 51.9 | 31% | 19% |
| Dereham | 20,788 | 6 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 27% |
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 Bawdeswell’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Bawdeswell’s residents
What is the population of Bawdeswell?
The 2021 Census counted 869 people in Bawdeswell’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bawdeswell?
The median age was 48.4 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bawdeswell?
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 Bawdeswell?
44% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.4% didn’t answer.
Is Bawdeswell good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bawdeswell’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). 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.