Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0Necton is older than 98% of UK towns: a median age of 57.3
Where nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Necton has 1.9%. Adults who have never married: a fifth of the total. At 73%, the share of households in detached houses is higher than in 99% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 1,742 residents and 809 households here.
What the Census says about Necton’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Necton’s residents are under 57.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 38% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
198 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
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 98% of UK towns, at 38%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. Necton has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 91% of UK towns, at 8.1%. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
3.4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 96% 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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
In Necton, 19% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 97% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.1% here and 4.3% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. There are 2.2 people in the average household. Necton has fewer one-person households than 63% of UK towns, at 28%.
Necton ranks below 99% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 3.1%
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
In Necton, 9.9% of households have no car or van, beside 24% across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 2.9%, a lower share than 92% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%). Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 99% here, more than in 88% of UK towns. The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A higher White British share than 96% of UK towns: 97% of residents
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 Necton · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
35% of residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%). By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: three fifths of the total.
58% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 95% 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
87 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 12% here, more than in 95% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%.
A degree-level qualification for 17% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 17% of adults in Necton, 34% across England’s towns; 28% have no qualification, against 18%.
Older than Necton: 2 of the 7 towns nearby
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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 Necton’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 Necton’s residents
What is the population of Necton?
The 2021 Census counted 1,742 people in Necton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Necton?
The median age was 57.3 at the 2021 Census. 8.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 38% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Necton?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 2.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Necton?
35% said they had no religion and 60% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Necton good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Necton’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.