Photo: Stuart Shepherd · CC BY-SA 2.02.4% of households live in a flat or apartment, below 96% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%; Methwold has 12%. The village counted 1,044 residents and 428 households at the 2021 Census. The census found that 23% of households are one person living alone here. Few places have as many residents with no religion: 46% here, more than in 82% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Methwold’s people
A village people move to
17% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Methwold is younger than 61% of UK towns: a median age of 43.1
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
People aged 65 and over make up 19% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
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.
Methwold ranks above 97% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 17%
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 account for 29% of Methwold’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 27%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. For comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. The share of full-time students stands at 3.9%.
Larger households than 82% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average
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.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults is 5.4%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. 28% of households have dependent children.
Only 8.7% of households have no car or van in Methwold
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 21% across England’s towns, 46% of households live in a detached house here. The comparison figure for households without a car or van is 24% across England’s towns.
9.4% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 71% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (4.3%) or in EU countries (3.1%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English are more common here than in just over two thirds of UK towns.
45% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 77% 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: 92% of Methwold · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (4.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and African (0.6%). On residents who describe themselves as White British, Methwold sits lower than 51% of UK towns: 92%. The usual figure: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 71% of UK towns don’t reach
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
27 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. The wider picture: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 7.5%, fewer than in 92% of UK towns. In Methwold, nearly a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, beside 39% across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 24%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Methwold’s adults: 24% with a degree-level qualification and 23% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
6 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Methwold
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Methwold | 1,044 | — | 43.1 | 19% | 28% |
| Feltwell | 2,919 | 2.7 mi | 38.5 | 20% | 33% |
| Stoke Ferry | 1,191 | 3.8 mi | 51.8 | 27% | 21% |
| Hockwold cum Wilton | 1,303 | 4 mi | 47.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Mundford | 1,563 | 4.3 mi | 50.7 | 26% | 24% |
| Weeting | 1,883 | 4.7 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 23% |
| Brandon | 9,218 | 6.1 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 23% |
| Southery | 1,258 | 6.6 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 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 Methwold’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 Methwold’s residents
What is the population of Methwold?
The 2021 Census counted 1,044 people in Methwold’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Methwold?
The median age was 43.1 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Methwold?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 9.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Methwold?
46% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 7.2% didn’t answer.
Is Methwold good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Methwold’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.