Photo: David Pashley · CC BY-SA 2.021% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 91% of UK towns
One-person households: 37%, above 93% of UK towns. North Walsham had 12,829 residents in 6,062 households at the 2021 Census. Across North Walsham, 96% of residents describe themselves as White British. 19% of households have no car or van, a higher share than in 69% of UK towns.
What the Census says about North Walsham’s people
Older than most towns
Half of North Walsham’s residents are under 50.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% 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) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Slower than most: +4% since 2011, behind 66% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. North Walsham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 12,600 people in 2011; 13,100 in 2024.
The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+18%), the 0 to 15 group the smallest (−8%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2020 to mid-2021: 300 people.
North Walsham is older than 86% of UK towns: a median age of 50.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 90% of UK towns: 29%. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.7% in North Walsham.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ North Walsham, 50.2. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Full-time students: 3.5%, a lower share than 94% 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 North Walsham, a quarter of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 33% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%. For North Walsham, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 9.5%.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 95% 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.
Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%; North Walsham has 2.1%.
North Walsham sits above 69% of UK towns for households in detached houses (36%)
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 23% across England’s towns, 14% of households live in a flat or apartment here. On average, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. Locally, 18% of households live in a terraced house.
North Walsham sits above 88% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: just over a tenth of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. 3.9% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 79% of UK towns. Set beside that, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.2%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%).
More residents with no religion than 59% of UK towns: 42%
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 North Walsham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%; North Walsham has 49%. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Chinese (0.1%).
30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 65% 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
Where nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns, North Walsham has 10%. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 45% here, fewer than in 71% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. 399 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
21% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
21% of North Walsham’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 22% have none (18%).
Among 382 UK towns of 9,000 to 17,000 people, the 46th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to North Walsham in age: Honiton (49.8), Uppermill (50.1), Sherborne (50.2) and Prestatyn (50.3).
Of the 7 towns nearest North Walsham, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Walsham | 12,829 | — | 50.2 | 29% | 21% |
| Mundesley | 2,777 | 4.4 mi | 58.7 | 40% | 15% |
| Badersfield | 1,490 | 4.6 mi | 37.9 | 12% | 40% |
| Aylsham | 7,183 | 6.1 mi | 49.9 | 31% | 25% |
| Coltishall and Horstead | 2,255 | 6.4 mi | 51.7 | 30% | 23% |
| Stalham | 3,383 | 6.5 mi | 49 | 29% | 20% |
| Sutton | 1,026 | 7.3 mi | 50.6 | 29% | 25% |
| Hevingham | 1,039 | 7.6 mi | 43.8 | 18% | 33% |
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 North Walsham’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. North Walsham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 13,011 people in 2021, against 12,829 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 North Walsham’s residents
What is the population of North Walsham?
The 2021 Census counted 12,829 people in North Walsham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 13,100 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in North Walsham?
The median age was 50.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 86% of UK towns. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is North Walsham?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 3.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in North Walsham?
42% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 7.5% didn’t answer.
Is North Walsham good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on North Walsham’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. 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.