Photo: Zorba the Geek · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 92% of UK towns: half of Beeston is over 52.2
3% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are common here: 86%, more than in 99% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Beeston was home to 248 people in 98 households. The census found that 13% of residents give unpaid care locally.
12% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 23%, against 18% across England’s towns. In Hunstanton, the oldest of Norfolk’s towns by this measure, it is 44%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Fewer full-time students than 96% of UK towns: 3.4%
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%.
At 11%, the share of residents who moved in within the year is in line with the figure across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
Beeston sits below 94% of UK towns for households with dependent children (20%)
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 household here has 2.5 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Across the comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. 24% of households are one person living alone. Beeston has more shared households of unrelated adults than 93% of UK towns, at 4.1%.
A smaller share of households in terraced houses than 99% of UK towns: 3%
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
1% of households live in a flat or apartment (England’s towns: 23%). Across England’s towns, households in terraced houses come to 24%.
Fewer residents born abroad than 71% of UK towns: 4.4%
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
Residents whose main language is English: 98% here and 90% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%).
Beeston: 59% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 92% 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 Beeston · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, against 94% in Beeston. As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Locally, 33% of residents said they have no religion.
Beeston ranks below 98% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 22%
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
Some 11 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. To put it in context, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Few places have as many married adults and civil partners: 60% here, more than in 98% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 28% of Beeston’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 16% have no qualification (18%).
Beeston is younger than 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beeston | 248 | — | 52.2 | 23% | 20% |
| Necton | 1,742 | 4.4 mi | 57.3 | 38% | 19% |
| Dereham | 20,788 | 5.3 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 27% |
| North Elmham | 1,172 | 5.7 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 22% |
| Shipdham | 2,459 | 6 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 25% |
| Swanton Morley | 2,175 | 6.7 mi | 41.5 | 24% | 28% |
| Ashill | 1,252 | 6.9 mi | 57.6 | 39% | 17% |
| Swaffham | 8,434 | 7.1 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 21% |
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 Beeston’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 Beeston’s residents
What is the population of Beeston?
The 2021 Census counted 248 people in Beeston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Beeston?
The median age was 52.2 at the 2021 Census. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Beeston?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Beeston?
33% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.7% didn’t answer.
Is Beeston good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Beeston’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.