Photo: Charlesdrakew · Public domainOnly 1.4% of households live in a flat or apartment in Lyng
By its share of households in detached houses (66%), Lyng is above 98% of UK towns. Here, 8.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24. The village has more residents who describe themselves as White British than 88% of UK towns, at 96%. Census day 2021: 856 residents and 366 households locally.
A median age of 48.7: Lyng is older than 78% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
A quarter of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. In Hunstanton, the oldest of Norfolk’s towns by this measure, it is 44%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Lyng, 4.6% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in just over a third of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 21% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Across Lyng, 8.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
One-person households make up 25% in Lyng, less than in 85% 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.
A household here has 2.4 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. In Lyng, 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Fewer households with dependent children than in 61% of UK towns: 26%.
Lyng ranks below 98% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 3.6%
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
Across England’s towns, 24% of households have no car or van; in Lyng, 8.8%.
Below 89% of UK towns: 3.2% of residents were born outside the UK
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 share of residents whose main language is English is 99%, against 90% across England’s towns. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 52%, a higher share than 63% 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: 96% of Lyng · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (2.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Indian (0.1%). Lyng has more residents with no religion than 53% of UK towns, at 41%. For residents who describe themselves as Christian, the comparison across England’s towns is 46%.
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 90% of UK towns, at 56%
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
Nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care, about the same as across England’s towns. Fewer adults who have never married than in just over four fifths of UK towns: 28%. The benchmark for married adults and civil partners across England’s towns: 44%. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 21 residents.
30% of adults are qualified to degree level
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 Lyng, 16%, while 30% hold one at degree level (34%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Lyng, 3 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyng | 856 | — | 48.7 | 25% | 26% |
| Swanton Morley | 2,175 | 3.1 mi | 41.5 | 24% | 28% |
| Reepham | 2,317 | 3.9 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 24% |
| Mattishall | 2,203 | 4.4 mi | 51.9 | 31% | 19% |
| Foulsham | 1,025 | 4.8 mi | 48.5 | 23% | 23% |
| North Elmham | 1,172 | 5.1 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 22% |
| Cawston | 1,114 | 5.6 mi | 47.8 | 23% | 26% |
| Dereham | 20,788 | 5.7 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 27% |
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 Lyng’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 Lyng’s residents
What is the population of Lyng?
The 2021 Census counted 856 people in Lyng’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Lyng?
The median age was 48.7 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lyng?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lyng?
41% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Lyng good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Lyng’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.