Photo: Michael Garlick · CC BY-SA 2.0Mattishall is older than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 51.9
1.6% of households live in a flat or apartment (England’s towns: 23%). Fewer households without a car or van than in 94% of UK towns: 7.2%. At the 2021 Census Mattishall was home to 2,203 people in 985 households. Locally, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British.
What the Census says about Mattishall’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Mattishall’s residents are under 51.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 93% of UK towns, at 31%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 8.2%, against 12% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
Only 3.2% of adults are full-time students in Mattishall
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%.
Compared with 11% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier here. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.
Only 19% of households have dependent children in Mattishall
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.
At 2.2 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.5% of the total. 29% of households are one person living alone, a lower share than in 57% of UK towns.
A higher share of households in detached houses than 96% of UK towns, at 60%
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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 6.9% of households live in a terraced house here. Typically, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 93% of UK towns, at 99%
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
Residents born outside the UK make up 3.8%, against 18% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.9%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 55%, a higher share than 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: 97% of Mattishall · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents with no religion is 38% in Mattishall and 37% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Only 26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Mattishall
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
Unpaid carers: 11% here and 8.7% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. In Mattishall, 54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Mattishall, 27% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 19% have no qualification at all (18%).
Median age: 2 of the 7 towns around Mattishall 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattishall | 2,203 | — | 51.9 | 31% | 19% |
| Dereham | 20,788 | 3.8 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 27% |
| Swanton Morley | 2,175 | 4.3 mi | 41.5 | 24% | 28% |
| Easton | 1,436 | 5.6 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Hingham | 2,304 | 5.7 mi | 53.2 | 33% | 20% |
| Shipdham | 2,459 | 5.8 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 25% |
| Queen's Hills | 4,465 | 6.5 mi | 30.8 | 2.8% | 44% |
| North Elmham | 1,172 | 7 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 22% |
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 Mattishall’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 Mattishall’s residents
What is the population of Mattishall?
The 2021 Census counted 2,203 people in Mattishall’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Mattishall?
The median age was 51.9 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Mattishall?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 3.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Mattishall?
38% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Mattishall good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Mattishall’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.