Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0More households in detached houses than 91% of UK towns: 51%
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 8.5% in Hethersett and 12% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 1.6%. Just over one in ten households have no car or van, fewer than in 78% of UK towns. There were 3,020 households locally at the 2021 Census, home to 7,018 residents.
What the Census says about Hethersett’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Hethersett at 5,700 in 2011 and 8,000 in 2024, up 41%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 96% 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.
Growth of +41% since 2011 puts Hethersett ahead of 96% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Hethersett’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,700 people in 2011; 8,000 in 2024.
Change by age ran from +69% for the 0 to 15 to +13% for the 45 to 64. In one year, mid-2020 to mid-2021, the population rose by 450, the most of any year.
Half of Hethersett is under 42.5, younger than 66% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Hethersett comes in at 24%. 35–39 is the most common age band: 6.9% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Hethersett, 42.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
4.4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 69% of UK towns
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Hethersett, 41% and 20%. Here, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
27% of households are one person living alone, below 70% 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.
Households with dependent children: 29%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. Average household size: 2.3 people. The comparison figure for one-person households is 30% across England’s towns.
3.9% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 88% 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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 13% of households live in a terraced house in Hethersett. The benchmark for households in flats across England’s towns: 23%.
Residents born outside the UK make up 8.7% in Hethersett, more than in 68% 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
Of residents born abroad, 15% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. In Hethersett, 97% of residents have English as their main language.
45% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 79% 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: 89% of Hethersett · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (3.9%), Mixed or multiple (2.3%) and African (1%). On average, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. 89% of residents describe themselves as White British, a lower share than in 67% of UK towns. Nothing unusual on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
Above 73% of UK towns: 52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
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
Here 29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 39%. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. 148 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 8.6%, fewer than in 71% of UK towns.
Among adults, 36% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 36% of adults in Hethersett (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 15% (England’s towns: 18%).
Of 473 UK towns its size (5,000 to 9,000 people), the 126th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Red Lodge (30.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Hethersett in age: Pontardawe (42.2), Higham Ferrers (42.4), Dursley (42.5) and Steeton (42.6).
Hethersett is younger than 5 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hethersett | 7,018 | — | 42.5 | 24% | 29% |
| Little Melton | 1,049 | 1 mi | 48.9 | 25% | 27% |
| Cringleford | 4,686 | 2.5 mi | 40.4 | 20% | 36% |
| Wymondham | 16,334 | 2.9 mi | 43 | 21% | 29% |
| Easton | 1,436 | 3.5 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Mulbarton | 3,807 | 4.1 mi | 42.7 | 21% | 30% |
| Costessey | 2,608 | 4.2 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 25% |
| Queen's Hills | 4,465 | 4.3 mi | 30.8 | 2.8% | 44% |
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 Hethersett’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. Hethersett’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 7,200 people in 2021, against 7,018 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 Hethersett’s residents
What is the population of Hethersett?
The 2021 Census counted 7,018 people in Hethersett’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 8,000 people in mid-2024, 41% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Hethersett?
The median age was 42.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 66% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hethersett?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 8.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hethersett?
45% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Hethersett good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hethersett’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.