Church of St Mary the Virgin · Photo: David from Colorado Springs, United States · CC BY 2.0Docking 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%.
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.
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
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
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
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
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.
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.
Against Norfolk’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
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.
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
Cars or vans · share of households
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.
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
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%).
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
White British, not charted: 97% of Docking · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
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%.
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
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
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.
Degree-level qualifications: 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 26% of adults in Docking (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 24% (England’s towns: 18%).
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.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docking | 810 | — | 55.5 | 37% | 19% |
| Snettisham | 2,709 | 5.6 mi | 59.1 | 41% | 17% |
| Heacham | 3,978 | 5.7 mi | 60.1 | 43% | 13% |
| Hunstanton | 4,230 | 6.1 mi | 61.3 | 44% | 12% |
| Dersingham | 4,753 | 6.4 mi | 58.6 | 41% | 17% |
| Wells-next-the-Sea | 2,151 | 10.1 mi | 58.5 | 39% | 16% |
| Fakenham | 8,390 | 10.6 mi | 49.4 | 29% | 21% |
| Gayton | 1,522 | 11.4 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 27% |
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 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.