Photo: Bob Crook · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of households in flats than 94% of UK towns, at 2.8%
Compared with 21% across England’s towns, 44% of households live in a detached house here. Residents aged 65 and over account for 27%. 45% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 77% of UK towns. Bradwell is home to 11,632 residents in 5,110 households, by the 2021 Census.
+15% since 2011, a pace 77% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bradwell’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,600 people in 2011; 12,200 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2020 to mid-2021, the population rose by 500, the most of any year. The 65 and over age group changed most (+28%) and the 45 to 64 least (+4%).
In Bradwell, 9% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 75% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: 7.6% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bradwell, 47.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 68% of UK towns: 4.4% of adults are full-time students
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Bradwell, 27% and 30%. On residents who moved in within the year, Bradwell sits lower than 53% of UK towns: 8.5%. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
1.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 78% of UK towns
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 average household has 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. 25% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 67% of UK towns. The comparison figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3% across England’s towns. The census found that 28% of households are one person living alone in Bradwell.
Households in terraced houses make up 15% in Bradwell, less than in 73% 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
By its share of households without a car or van (14%), Bradwell is below 55% of UK towns. Households in terraced houses: 24% across England’s towns, for comparison.
4.1% of residents were born outside the UK, below 77% of UK towns
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.7%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). Higher than in nearly two thirds of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Since 2017: 13% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
Bradwell ranks above 81% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 95%
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: 95% of Bradwell · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 46% across England’s towns, 48% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Bradwell. Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (1.7%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Indian (0.6%).
Married adults and civil partners make up 51% in Bradwell, more than in 68% 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
30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 39%. Unpaid carers are more common here than in nearly three fifths of UK towns. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 361 residents.
20% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 20% of Bradwell’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 23% have no qualification (18%).
Among 432 UK towns of 8,000 to 16,000 people, the 105th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Bradwell in age: Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne (47.1), Alsager (47.2), Hetton-le-Hole (47.3) and Sandbach (47.3).
Bradwell and its 7 nearest towns: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradwell | 11,632 | — | 47.2 | 27% | 25% |
| Gorleston-on-Sea | 24,474 | 0.9 mi | 43.5 | 22% | 27% |
| Belton | 3,603 | 1.8 mi | 47.5 | 26% | 26% |
| Great Yarmouth | 28,979 | 2.5 mi | 38 | 16% | 29% |
| Hopton on Sea | 2,575 | 2.9 mi | 51.3 | 28% | 21% |
| Corton | 1,134 | 4.6 mi | 59.2 | 39% | 14% |
| Caister-on-Sea | 9,095 | 5.1 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 20% |
| Freethorpe | 1,050 | 6.2 mi | 41.5 | 19% | 33% |
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 Bradwell’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. Bradwell’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,632 people in 2021, against 11,632 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 Bradwell’s residents
What is the population of Bradwell?
The 2021 Census counted 11,632 people in Bradwell’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,200 people in mid-2024, 15% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bradwell?
The median age was 47.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 70% of UK towns. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bradwell?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bradwell?
45% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Bradwell good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bradwell’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.