Photo: Hugh Venables · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 7% of households in Foulsham have no car or van
97% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Census figures put households with dependent children at 23% in Foulsham. The village has fewer households in terraced houses than 89% of UK towns, at 9.8%. At the 2021 Census, 1,025 people lived in the village, in 458 households.
What the Census says about Foulsham’s people
More with no religion than most
48% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 46% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Half of Foulsham is over 48.5, older than 77% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
23% of Foulsham is 65 or over, against 24% across Norfolk’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 9.9% of residents, 1.5 times the share 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.
Foulsham ranks below 97% of UK towns on full-time students: 3.3%
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, 29% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 23% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The census found that 8.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Foulsham. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Foulsham households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 69% 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.
In Foulsham, nearly a third of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. 2.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Foulsham ranks above 80% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 42%
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
Households in flats: 7.2% here and 23% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 21%.
99% of residents have English as their main language, a share 97% of UK towns don’t reach
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.3%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%). To put it in context, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 3.8% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 80% of UK towns.
Foulsham ranks above 89% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 48%
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 Foulsham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
At 46%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is in line with the figure across England’s towns. Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Foulsham ranks above 72% of UK towns on 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
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 32. On average, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. The share of married adults and civil partners is 48%, against 44% across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 28%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Foulsham counts 28% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 18% have no qualification (18%).
Foulsham sits below 4 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foulsham | 1,025 | — | 48.5 | 23% | 23% |
| North Elmham | 1,172 | 3.6 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 22% |
| Reepham | 2,317 | 4.5 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 24% |
| Swanton Morley | 2,175 | 4.7 mi | 41.5 | 24% | 28% |
| Briston | 1,983 | 5.3 mi | 51.7 | 31% | 22% |
| Melton Constable | 1,176 | 5.3 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 27% |
| Cawston | 1,114 | 6.6 mi | 47.8 | 23% | 26% |
| Fakenham | 8,390 | 7.4 mi | 49.4 | 29% | 21% |
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 Foulsham’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 Foulsham’s residents
What is the population of Foulsham?
The 2021 Census counted 1,025 people in Foulsham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Foulsham?
The median age was 48.5 at the 2021 Census. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Foulsham?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 3.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Foulsham?
48% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Foulsham good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Foulsham’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.