Photo: Adrian Cable · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 99% of UK towns: half of Bressingham is over 60.3
In Bressingham, 88% of households live in a detached house, beside 21% across England’s towns. On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Bressingham sits higher than 98% of UK towns: 65%. Census day 2021: 258 residents and 121 households in the village. For Bressingham, the census puts households in flats at 0.8%.
44% of Bressingham is 65 or over, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 70–74: 13% of residents, 2.6 times the share across England’s towns. To put it in context, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Bressingham, 7% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
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.
Full-time students: 2.5%, a lower share than 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%.
3.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Fewer families than 99% of UK towns: 11% of households have children
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 shared households of unrelated adults trails 87% of UK towns: 1.7%. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 24%, fewer than in 90% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, households with dependent children come to 29%. Average household size: 2.1 people.
Bressingham sits below 99% of UK towns for households in terraced houses (2.4%)
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
6.6% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 2.7%, a lower share than 94% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.6%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%). Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Bressingham has more residents whose main language is English than 99% of UK towns, at 100%.
Bressingham ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 98%
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: 98% of Bressingham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 29%, below 95% of UK towns. Set beside that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Bressingham ranks above 99% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 64%
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
The share of adults who have never married is 20%, against 39% across England’s towns. The benchmark for married adults and civil partners across England’s towns: 44%. The census found that 8.2% of residents give unpaid care in Bressingham.
Qualified to degree level: 31% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 31% of adults in Bressingham (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 20% (England’s towns: 18%).
Every neighbour of Bressingham has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bressingham | 258 | — | 60.3 | 44% | 11% |
| Roydon (South Norfolk) | 1,117 | 1 mi | 52.1 | 27% | 23% |
| Diss | 9,599 | 2.2 mi | 46.3 | 26% | 23% |
| Scole | 1,037 | 4.1 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 20% |
| Rickinghall and Botesdale | 1,842 | 4.5 mi | 52.6 | 31% | 21% |
| Dickleburgh | 1,166 | 5.1 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 33% |
| Eye | 2,211 | 5.7 mi | 52.4 | 33% | 21% |
| Gislingham | 1,172 | 6.1 mi | 50.3 | 24% | 25% |
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 Bressingham’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 Bressingham’s residents
What is the population of Bressingham?
The 2021 Census counted 258 people in Bressingham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bressingham?
The median age was 60.3 at the 2021 Census. 7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 44% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bressingham?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 2.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bressingham?
29% said they had no religion and 65% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Bressingham good for families?
11% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bressingham’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.