Photo: Evelyn Simak · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer flats than 99% of UK towns: 0.8% of households
Households with dependent children make up 22%, against 29% across England’s towns. With a median age of 50.4, Burston is older than 87% of UK towns. 582 residents in 241 households: that is Burston at the 2021 Census. For Burston, the census puts one-person households at 25%.
27% of Burston is 65 or over, a higher share than 83% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; in Burston, 11%. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
5.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for a third of Burston’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 20%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. 5% of adults are full-time students, more than in 56% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
More shared houses than 96% of UK towns: 5% of households
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 typical household size is 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Below 94% of UK towns: 7.5% of households live in a terraced 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
With households without a car or van at 9.6%, Burston is behind 84% of UK towns on that count. Measured more widely, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. Across Burston, 55% of households live in a detached house.
Burston sits above 85% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.2%) or in Africa (1%). On residents born outside the UK, Burston sits lower than 78% of UK towns: 4%. Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns.
Burston ranks above 70% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 44%
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: 93% of Burston · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
49% of residents describe themselves as Christian; across England’s towns the figure is 46%. The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 93% of the total.
11% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 86% 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
Nearly half of adults are married or in a civil partnership (England’s towns: 44%). Few places have so few adults who have never married: 31% here, fewer than in 63% of UK towns. The share of unpaid carers across England’s towns is 8.7%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 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 Burston’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 20% have no qualification (18%).
3 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Burston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burston | 582 | — | 50.4 | 27% | 22% |
| Dickleburgh | 1,166 | 1.9 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 33% |
| Diss | 9,599 | 2.3 mi | 46.3 | 26% | 23% |
| Scole | 1,037 | 2.7 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 20% |
| Roydon (South Norfolk) | 1,117 | 3 mi | 52.1 | 27% | 23% |
| Eye | 2,211 | 5.7 mi | 52.4 | 33% | 21% |
| Harleston | 5,077 | 6.5 mi | 47.6 | 29% | 24% |
| Long Stratton | 5,218 | 6.8 mi | 43.3 | 21% | 28% |
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 Burston’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 Burston’s residents
What is the population of Burston?
The 2021 Census counted 582 people in Burston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Burston?
The median age was 50.4 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Burston?
93% 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 Burston?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Burston good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Burston’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.