Photo: HazelJMills · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 51.7: Briston is older than 91% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 29%; Briston has 22%. At 3.2%, the share of households in flats is lower than in 92% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 1,983 residents here, living in 927 households. Households without a car or van: just over a tenth of the total.
What the Census says about Briston’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Briston’s residents are under 51.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.7%, a lower share than 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Briston comes in at 31%. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
Full-time students: 3.2%, a lower share than 97% 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%.
Here 9.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, where the figure across England’s towns is 11%. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 85% 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.
With one-person households at 32%, Briston is ahead of 71% of UK towns on that count. Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.5% of the total.
Above 92% of UK towns: 53% of households live in a detached house
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
For Briston, the census puts households in terraced houses at 21%.
Briston: 100% of residents have English as their main language, above 99% 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
Compared with 18% across England’s towns, 4.9% of residents were born outside the UK here. On average, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (3.2%), then in Africa (0.7%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 55%, a higher share than 82% 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: 95% of Briston · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (4%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and African (0.1%). Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. On residents who describe themselves as White British, Briston sits higher than 73% of UK towns: 95%. By contrast, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, against 38% here.
Only 29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Briston
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
Set against 44% across England’s towns, half of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Briston. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 53% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
26% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 26% of adults in Briston (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 23% (England’s towns: 18%).
Briston sits below 2 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Briston | 1,983 | — | 51.7 | 31% | 22% |
| Melton Constable | 1,176 | 1 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 27% |
| Holt | 4,014 | 4.1 mi | 57.5 | 40% | 15% |
| Foulsham | 1,025 | 5.3 mi | 48.5 | 23% | 23% |
| Reepham | 2,317 | 6.4 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 24% |
| Cawston | 1,114 | 7.2 mi | 47.8 | 23% | 26% |
| Fakenham | 8,390 | 8.6 mi | 49.4 | 29% | 21% |
| North Elmham | 1,172 | 8.7 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 22% |
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 Briston’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 Briston’s residents
What is the population of Briston?
The 2021 Census counted 1,983 people in Briston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Briston?
The median age was 51.7 at the 2021 Census. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Briston?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Briston?
38% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Briston good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Briston’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.