Emneth War Memorial · Photo: Adrian S Pye · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in flats make up 0.8% in Elm and Emneth, less than in 99% of UK towns
Compared with 21% across England’s towns, 60% of households live in a detached house here. The share of one-person households stands at 25%. Households with dependent children are rarer here than in 70% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 4,555 residents in 1,921 households.
What the Census says about Elm and Emneth’s people
Many carers
486 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 90% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
8.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 81% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
25% of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. What’s more, the median age in Elm and Emneth is 47.8, higher than in 73% of UK towns. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.7% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Elm and Emneth, 47.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns, at 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%.
By class, 25% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 31% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.9%.
Larger households than 70% of UK towns: 2.4 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 3.2% here and 4.3% across England’s towns.
Households in terraced houses: 7.4%, a lower share than 94% 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
One in ten households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 5.5% in Elm and Emneth, less than in 59% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 13%. On the census count, 97% of residents have English as their main language. Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 55%, a higher share than 80% 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: 92% of Elm and Emneth · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, against 38% in Elm and Emneth. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (5.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Caribbean (0.3%). Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%.
More unpaid carers than 90% of UK towns: 11%
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
The share of married adults and civil partners is 50%, against 44% across England’s towns. The census found that 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Elm and Emneth. Measured more widely, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 19% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 19% of its adults qualified to degree level, Elm and Emneth compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 27% hold no qualification (18%).
279th oldest of 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe the oldest (64.7). Nearest to Elm and Emneth in age: Disley (47.8), Whitwell (47.8), Barton-le-Clay (47.8) and Theydon Bois (47.8).
Elm and Emneth and its 7 nearest towns: 3 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elm and Emneth | 4,555 | — | 47.8 | 25% | 25% |
| Friday Bridge | 1,411 | 1.7 mi | 51.8 | 31% | 20% |
| Wisbech | 26,800 | 2 mi | 41.7 | 20% | 28% |
| Marshland St James | 1,025 | 2.9 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 24% |
| Upwell and Outwell | 3,664 | 3 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 25% |
| Leverington | 1,694 | 3.7 mi | 47.2 | 29% | 25% |
| Wisbech St Mary | 1,069 | 3.9 mi | 46.2 | 25% | 25% |
| Gorefield | 1,070 | 5 mi | 50.2 | 29% | 24% |
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 Elm and Emneth’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 Elm and Emneth’s residents
What is the population of Elm and Emneth?
The 2021 Census counted 4,555 people in Elm and Emneth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Elm and Emneth?
The median age was 47.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 73% of UK towns. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Elm and Emneth?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 5.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Elm and Emneth?
38% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Elm and Emneth good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Elm and Emneth’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.