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Church of St Mary the VirginChurch of St Mary the Virgin · Photo: David from Colorado Springs, United States · CC BY 2.0
55.5Median age
Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Docking is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 55.5

The share of households with dependent children is 19%, against 29% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 810 people lived in Docking, in 363 households. Locally, 2.2% of households live in a flat or apartment. Fewer residents with no religion than in 90% of UK towns: 32%.

Ages

37% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 98% of UK towns

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

DockingEngland’s towns
0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

In Docking, 8.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24, beside 12% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1511%
15 to 248.7%
25 to 4417%
45 to 6426%
65 and over37%
DockingNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

50% women, 50% men

Docking
England
WomenMen

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

Students & newcomers

Below 99% of UK towns: 2.6% 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

Full-time students2.6%
Higher managerial and professional9.9%
Lower managerial and professional22%
Intermediate9.9%
Small employers and self-employed18%
Supervisory and technical6.8%
Semi-routine11%
Routine12%
Never worked or long-term unemployed7.7%
DockingNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

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

Docking
9.5%
England’s towns
11%
Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad
Moved in within a year
76
residents, 9.4%; England’s towns 11%
Of them from abroad
5
0.6× England’s share

Residents who moved in within the year: 9.4%, above 64% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.

Households

2.1 people per household, fewer than in 94% of UK towns

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

Living alone, 66+ 18%Living alone, under 66 15%Families with dependent children 19%Couples and families, no young children 45%Shared houses and other 3%

Against Norfolk’s towns and England’s towns

Docking
Norfolk’s towns
England’s towns

People per household

1 person33%
2 people42%
3 people13%
4 people9.9%
5 or more2.7%

England’s towns.

3% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns. One-person households are more common here than in 71% of UK towns.

Homes & cars

Only 8.8% of households in Docking have no car or van

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Docking
Norfolk’s towns
England’s towns
DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van8.8%
One44%
Two34%
Three or more13%
DockingNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

By its share of households in detached houses (38%), Docking is above 73% of UK towns. One household in 11 has no car or van. Households in terraced houses are rarer here than in 72% of UK towns.

Where people were born

Fewer residents born outside the UK than 68% of UK towns: 4.7%

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%

Docking
4.7%
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 language98%
Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.6%
Another main language, little or no English0.1%
DockingNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

The share of residents whose main language is English tops 63% of UK towns: 98%. Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%).

Ethnicity & religion

Docking sits above 97% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (63%)

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

DockingNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns
Other White1.7%
Asian1.5%
Mixed0%
Black0%
Other0.1%
0%6%12%

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

Religion · all residents

DockingNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns
No religion32%
Christian63%
Muslim0%
Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.6%
Other religion0.4%
Didn’t answer4.7%
0%35%70%

After White British, the largest groups are Other White (1.7%), Indian (0.9%) and Arab (0.1%). The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46% across England’s towns. More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 94% of UK towns: 97%.

Relationships & caring

A smaller share of adults who have never married than 90% of UK towns: 26%

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 partnership26%
Married or civil partnership51%
Separated2.7%
Divorced9.9%
Widowed11%
DockingNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns
69residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 8.8%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.1%
20 to 49 hours1.1%
50 hours or more2.5%

Unpaid carers make up 8.8%, close to the figure across England’s towns. At 51%, the share of married adults and civil partners is higher than in 69% of UK towns. Elsewhere, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 20 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week.

Qualifications

Degree-level qualifications: 26% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications24%
Apprenticeship8.1%
A levels or similar14%
Degree level26%
DockingNorfolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Degree-level qualifications are held by 26% of adults in Docking (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 24% (England’s towns: 18%).

Neighbours

Of the 7 towns nearest Docking, 5 are older

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

SnettishamHeachamHunstantonDersinghamWells-next-the-SeaFakenhamGaytonDocking
under 3838–4444–5050–5656+
TownPeopleAwayMedian age65+Homes with children
Docking810—55.537%19%
Snettisham2,7095.6 mi59.141%17%
Heacham3,9785.7 mi60.143%13%
Hunstanton4,2306.1 mi61.344%12%
Dersingham4,7536.4 mi58.641%17%
Wells-next-the-Sea2,15110.1 mi58.539%16%
Fakenham8,39010.6 mi49.429%21%
Gayton1,52211.4 mi47.224%27%
More about Docking’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

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 Docking’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 Docking’s residents

What is the population of Docking?

The 2021 Census counted 810 people in Docking’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Docking?

The median age was 55.5 at the 2021 Census. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 37% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Docking?

97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4.7% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Docking?

32% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.7% didn’t answer.

Is Docking good for families?

19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Docking’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.