Photo: David P Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Cromer is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 56.2
The average household has 1.9 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. One-person households: 43% of the total. 17% of households live in a terraced house, a lower share than in 62% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 7,522 residents and 3,823 households in Cromer.
What the Census says about Cromer’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Cromer’s residents are under 56.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 37% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
A town of flats
35% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 98% of UK towns. 28% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Cromer at 7,700 in 2011 and 7,500 in 2024, down 2%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 91% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
From 2011 to 2024, 91% of UK towns grew faster than Cromer: −2%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Cromer’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 7,700 people in 2011; 7,500 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+19%) and the 16 to 29 least (−26%).
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of UK towns, at 37%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 94% of UK towns: 7.9%. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cromer, 56.2. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Below 98% of UK towns: 3.1% of adults are full-time students
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 take in 27% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 31% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison. Residents who moved in within the year account for 9%.
Only 16% of households have dependent children in Cromer
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.
Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%; Cromer has 2.7%. Set beside that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
35% of households live in a flat, more than in 98% of UK towns
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
In Cromer, 28% of households have no car or van, beside 24% across England’s towns. Households in detached houses are rarer here than in 52% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%.
Only 5.7% of residents were born outside the UK in Cromer
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%; Cromer has 97%. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%).
In Cromer, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 63% 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: 94% of Cromer · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 46% across England’s towns, 51% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Cromer. Higher than in 50% of UK towns: 41% of residents said they have no religion. The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 73% across England’s towns. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Chinese (0.3%).
A lower share of adults who have never married than 64% of UK towns, at 30%
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
256 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. On average, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Higher than in 68% of UK towns: 10% of residents give unpaid care. Nothing unusual on married adults and civil partners: 44%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
25% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 25% of adults in Cromer (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 23% (England’s towns: 18%).
Of 538 UK towns its size (5,000 to 10,000 people), the 17th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.9 in Red Lodge to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Cromer in age: Shanklin (55.8), Ventnor (56), Swanage (56.4) and West Mersea (56.6).
Older than Cromer: 4 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cromer | 7,522 | — | 56.2 | 37% | 16% |
| West Runton and Beeston Regis | 1,463 | 3.3 mi | 63.3 | 47% | 11% |
| Sheringham | 7,087 | 4 mi | 59.3 | 40% | 17% |
| Mundesley | 2,777 | 6.1 mi | 58.7 | 40% | 15% |
| North Walsham | 12,829 | 8 mi | 50.2 | 29% | 21% |
| Holt | 4,014 | 8.6 mi | 57.5 | 40% | 15% |
| Aylsham | 7,183 | 9.4 mi | 49.9 | 31% | 25% |
| Briston | 1,983 | 11.3 mi | 51.7 | 31% | 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 Cromer’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Cromer’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 7,541 people in 2021, against 7,522 in the built-up area.
- 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 Cromer’s residents
What is the population of Cromer?
The 2021 Census counted 7,522 people in Cromer’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 7,500 people in mid-2024, 2% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Cromer?
The median age was 56.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 97% of UK towns. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 37% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cromer?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 5.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cromer?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Cromer good for families?
16% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cromer’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.