Photo: Michael Garlick · CC BY-SA 2.0Castle Acre is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 55
1.2% of households live in a flat or apartment (England’s towns: 23%). At the 2021 Census Castle Acre was home to 859 people in 419 households. Households with dependent children account for 18%. On one-person households, Castle Acre sits higher than 94% of UK towns: 37%.
33% of Castle Acre is 65 or over, a higher share than 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 7.6%, against 12% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 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 92 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.
A lower share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns, at 2.3%
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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Castle Acre comes in at 8.4%. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 96% of UK towns: 2.1 people on average
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 is 2.2%, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
Only 12% of households have no car or van in Castle Acre
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
Households in detached houses: 33%, above 61% of UK towns. To put it in context, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Census figures put households in terraced houses at 19% in Castle Acre.
7% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 56% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.3%) or in Africa (1.6%). To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English make up 98%, against 90% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 57%, a higher share than 88% 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 Castle Acre · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (3.6%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Indian (0.5%). Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 95% here, more than in 72% of UK towns. To put it in context, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 36% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns.
Castle Acre ranks above 97% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 12%
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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 32 people. Few places have so few adults who have never married: 26% here, fewer than in 88% of UK towns. For comparison, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Castle Acre has 48%.
Qualified to degree level: 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 33% of adults in Castle Acre, 34% across England’s towns; 19% have no qualification, against 18%.
Around Castle Acre, 3 of 7 towns have a higher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Acre | 859 | — | 55 | 33% | 18% |
| Swaffham | 8,434 | 4.3 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 21% |
| Narborough | 1,362 | 4.6 mi | 50.7 | 30% | 23% |
| Necton | 1,742 | 5.5 mi | 57.3 | 38% | 19% |
| Gayton | 1,522 | 6.2 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 27% |
| Marham | 2,608 | 7 mi | 30.1 | 9.8% | 39% |
| Ashill | 1,252 | 7.9 mi | 57.6 | 39% | 17% |
| Saham Toney | 1,287 | 9.6 mi | 57.5 | 37% | 15% |
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 Castle Acre’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 Castle Acre’s residents
What is the population of Castle Acre?
The 2021 Census counted 859 people in Castle Acre’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Castle Acre?
The median age was 55 at the 2021 Census. 7.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Castle Acre?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Castle Acre?
36% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Castle Acre good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Castle Acre’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.