Photo: Adrian S Pye · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 60.8: Hickling is older than 99% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Hickling, 16%. Households in flats are rarer here than in 98% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 603, in 273 households. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 4.4%.
42% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 75–79: just over one in ten residents, 3.2 times the share across England’s towns. At 6.8%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is lower than in 99% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 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.
2.6% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 99% 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%.
With residents who moved in within the year at 7.9%, Hickling is behind 68% of UK towns on that count. 31% of the village’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 95% 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.
Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%; Hickling has 2.2%. Here, 30% of households are one person living alone.
A larger share of households in detached houses than 95% of UK towns: 58%
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 without a car or van: 10% here and 24% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 98% of UK towns: 2.2%
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 two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%). Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 100% here, more than in 99% of UK towns. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
In Hickling, 98% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 99% 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: 98% of Hickling · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
54% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents with no religion: 34% here, fewer than in 86% of UK towns. The wider picture: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Hickling sits below 99% of UK towns for adults who have never married (21%)
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
54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership (England’s towns: 44%). Census figures put unpaid carers at 11% in Hickling. As a reference point, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
28% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
28% of Hickling’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 26% have none (18%).
The towns around Hickling are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hickling | 603 | — | 60.8 | 42% | 16% |
| Sutton | 1,026 | 1.9 mi | 50.6 | 29% | 25% |
| Stalham | 3,383 | 2.6 mi | 49 | 29% | 20% |
| Martham | 3,633 | 4 mi | 50.4 | 29% | 24% |
| Hemsby | 5,724 | 6.2 mi | 57.9 | 37% | 17% |
| Ormesby St Margaret | 2,741 | 7.2 mi | 52.9 | 30% | 20% |
| Hoveton and Wroxham | 3,620 | 7.3 mi | 56.4 | 38% | 19% |
| Acle | 2,268 | 7.8 mi | 54 | 34% | 18% |
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 Hickling’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 Hickling’s residents
What is the population of Hickling?
The 2021 Census counted 603 people in Hickling’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Hickling?
The median age was 60.8 at the 2021 Census. 6.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 42% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hickling?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 2.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hickling?
34% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 12% didn’t answer.
Is Hickling good for families?
16% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hickling’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.