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47.8Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Fewer flats than 98% of UK towns: 1.6% of households

Nearly one in ten households have no car or van; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. Census day 2021: 1,114 residents and 498 households in Cawston. In Cawston, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British. With a median age of 47.8, Cawston is older than 73% of UK towns.

23%aged 65 or over 3.2%born abroad 498households

Ages

Cawston: 23% of residents are 65 or over, above 59% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

CawstonEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1514%

15 to 2411%

25 to 4421%

45 to 6431%

65 and over23%

CawstonNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

50% women, 50% men

Cawston

England

WomenMen

About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

7.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 81% 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

Full-time students4.9%

Higher managerial and professional8.4%

Lower managerial and professional18%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed16%

Supervisory and technical5.8%

Semi-routine16%

Routine13%

Never worked or long-term unemployed6.4%

CawstonNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Cawston

7.9%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 7.2%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0× England’s share

Managerial and professional jobs take in 27% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 29% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The share of residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns is 11%. 4.9% of adults are full-time students.

Households

Fewer people live alone than in 71% of UK towns: 27% of households

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 14%Living alone, under 66 13%Families with dependent children 26%Couples and families, no young children 45%Shared houses and other 2.4%

Against Norfolk’s towns and England’s towns

Cawston

Norfolk’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person27%

2 people41%

3 people16%

4 people12%

5 or more4.3%

England’s towns.

In Cawston the average household is 2.3 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. Lower than in nearly two thirds of UK towns: 26% of households have dependent children. To put it in context, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.

Homes & cars

Above 69% of UK towns: 36% 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

Cawston

Norfolk’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van8.4%

One42%

Two36%

Three or more14%

CawstonNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Households in terraced houses make up 18%, against 24% across England’s towns. At the same time, 1.6% of households live in a flat, less than in 98% of UK towns; 36% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.

Where people were born

3.2% born outside the UK, fewer than in 88% 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%

Cawston

3.2%

Norfolk’s towns

10%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.6%

Another main language, little or no English0%

CawstonNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.3%) and in EU countries (1%). Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 99% of residents have English as their main language, a higher share than in 97% of UK towns.

Ethnicity & religion

A higher share of residents with no religion than 80% of UK towns, at 46%

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

CawstonNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White1%

Asian0.4%

Mixed1.7%

Black0.1%

Other0.2%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 97% of Cawston · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

CawstonNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion46%

Christian47%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.4%

Other religion0.3%

Didn’t answer6.2%

0%30%60%

Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 47% here and 46% across England’s towns. Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. After White British, the largest groups are Mixed or multiple (1.7%), Other White (1%) and Indian (0.4%).

Relationships & caring

Cawston sits above 77% of UK towns for unpaid carers (10%)

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership33%

Married or civil partnership46%

Separated3%

Divorced13%

Widowed5.5%

CawstonNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

111residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 10%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week4.8%

20 to 49 hours2.6%

50 hours or more3%

Some 32 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. The share of unpaid carers across England’s towns is 8.7%. Fewer married adults and civil partners than in 65% of UK towns: 46%. By contrast, across England’s towns, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; in Cawston, 33%.

Qualifications

Among adults, 24% hold a degree-level qualification

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications22%

Apprenticeship7.5%

A levels or similar18%

Degree level24%

CawstonNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Degree-level qualifications cover 24% of adults in Cawston, 34% across England’s towns; 22% have no qualification, against 18%.

Neighbours

4 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Cawston

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

ReephamAylshamHevinghamHorsfordTaverham and DraytonFoulshamBristonCawston

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Cawston	1,114	—	47.8	23%	26%
Reepham	2,317	2.2 mi	51.4	30%	24%
Aylsham	7,183	3.9 mi	49.9	31%	25%
Hevingham	1,039	4.3 mi	43.8	18%	33%
Horsford	4,396	5.6 mi	38.8	16%	34%
Taverham and Drayton	14,989	6.2 mi	46.6	23%	28%
Foulsham	1,025	6.6 mi	48.5	23%	23%
Briston	1,983	7.2 mi	51.7	31%	22%

More about Cawston’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health BLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute C⁻Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living A⁻Owners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools CEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Cawston’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 Cawston’s residents

What is the population of Cawston?

The 2021 Census counted 1,114 people in Cawston’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Cawston?

The median age was 47.8 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Cawston?

97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Cawston?

46% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.

Is Cawston good for families?

26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cawston’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.