Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0King's Lynn is younger than 84% of UK towns: a median age of 39.3
23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, against 19% in King's Lynn. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 47,604, in 20,362 households. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as White British at 79% here. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are scarce here: 42%, fewer than in 85% of UK towns.
King's Lynn’s population moved +7% on 2011, less than in 51% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. King's Lynn’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 46,100 people in 2011; 49,500 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2014: 690 more people. Growth was strongest among the 30 to 44 (+21%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−20%).
King's Lynn sits above 78% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (11%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over are about as common here as across England’s towns: 18%. 30–34 is the most common age band: 7.9% of residents. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ King's Lynn, 39.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 4.6%, a lower share than 61% 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%.
In King's Lynn, nearly a quarter of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 35% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. One in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, a higher share than in 71% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.
3.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, more than in 90% 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.
30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, against 31% in King's Lynn. As a yardstick, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. Households here average 2.3 people each.
Households without a car or van make up 24% in King's Lynn, more than in 85% 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
Here 23% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. About one household in 4 lives without a car or van. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 62% of UK towns.
In King's Lynn, 86% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 96% 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
Arrivals from 2017 on account for a fifth of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns. More residents born outside the UK than in 92% of UK towns: 19%. For comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (12%), then in the Middle East and Asia (3.6%).
50% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 52% 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: 79% of King's Lynn · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
1% of residents are Muslim. Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 46% across England’s towns. Compared with 37% across England’s towns, just over two in five residents said they have no religion here.
Adults who have never married make up 38% in King's Lynn, more than in 81% 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
There is little gap on unpaid carers: 8.4%, about the same as across England’s towns. Against that, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in King's Lynn, 24%, while 23% hold one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 34 in North Lynn to 51 in Wootton
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Wootton is the oldest area, with 30% aged 65 or over; North Lynn the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in North Lynn (37% of households).
44th youngest of 156 UK towns of 33,000 to 64,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 27.5 in Canterbury to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to King's Lynn in age: Bootle (39.3), Hyde (39.3), Leighton Buzzard (39.4) and Boston (39.6).
Every nearby town is older than King's Lynn
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King's Lynn | 47,604 | — | 39.3 | 18% | 30% |
| Clenchwarton | 2,020 | 2.9 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 22% |
| West Winch | 2,828 | 3 mi | 50.6 | 28% | 26% |
| Terrington St Clement | 2,792 | 5.3 mi | 47.7 | 27% | 27% |
| Gayton | 1,522 | 5.6 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 27% |
| Watlington | 2,593 | 6.1 mi | 43.3 | 20% | 28% |
| Dersingham | 4,753 | 7 mi | 58.6 | 41% | 17% |
| Tilney St Lawrence | 1,504 | 7.1 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 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 King's Lynn’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. King's Lynn’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 48,811 people in 2021, against 47,604 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 King's Lynn’s residents
What is the population of King's Lynn?
The 2021 Census counted 47,604 people in King's Lynn’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 49,500 people in mid-2024, 7% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in King's Lynn?
The median age was 39.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 84% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is King's Lynn?
79% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 19% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in King's Lynn?
41% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is King's Lynn good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in North Lynn (37% of households). Schools are on King's Lynn’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.