Photo: Stavros1 at English Wikipedia · Public domainHigh Kelling is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 69.6
The share of households with dependent children is 6.4%, against 29% across England’s towns. High Kelling counted 491 residents and 266 households at the 2021 Census. In High Kelling, 12% of residents give unpaid care. Few places have as many one-person households: 34% here, more than in 81% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 61% in High Kelling, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: 16% of residents, 3.4 times the share across England’s towns. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 2.9%. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 82 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.
Below 99% of UK towns: 2.1% 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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in High Kelling, 41% and 17%. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 11%.
1.8 people per household, fewer than in 99% 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.
4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, against 3% in High Kelling.
Only 1.5% of households live in a terraced house in High Kelling
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
The figure for households in flats is 12% in High Kelling and 23% across England’s towns. The share of households in detached houses stands at 80%. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
100% of residents have English as their main language, a share 99% 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
Across England’s towns the share born abroad is 18%; in High Kelling it is 5.5%. Against that, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%).
25% of residents said they have no religion, below 98% 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: 97% of High Kelling · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (2.4%), Indian (0.4%) and Mixed or multiple (0.2%). More residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 99% of UK towns: 66%. On average, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 97%, above 93% of UK towns.
12% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
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
With married adults and civil partners at 65%, High Kelling is ahead of 99% of UK towns on that count. Measured more widely, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 29 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 33%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
20% of High Kelling’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 33% have one at degree level (34%).
High Kelling is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Kelling | 491 | — | 69.6 | 61% | 6.4% |
| Holt | 4,014 | 1.3 mi | 57.5 | 40% | 15% |
| Sheringham | 7,087 | 3.9 mi | 59.3 | 40% | 17% |
| West Runton and Beeston Regis | 1,463 | 4.5 mi | 63.3 | 47% | 11% |
| Briston | 1,983 | 5.3 mi | 51.7 | 31% | 22% |
| Melton Constable | 1,176 | 5.5 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 27% |
| Cromer | 7,522 | 7.4 mi | 56.2 | 37% | 16% |
| Aylsham | 7,183 | 10.1 mi | 49.9 | 31% | 25% |
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 High Kelling’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 High Kelling’s residents
What is the population of High Kelling?
The 2021 Census counted 491 people in High Kelling’s built-up area.
What is the average age in High Kelling?
The median age was 69.6 at the 2021 Census. 2.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 61% were 65 or over.
How diverse is High Kelling?
97% 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 High Kelling?
25% said they had no religion and 66% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is High Kelling good for families?
6.4% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on High Kelling’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.