Photo: Ovs at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Households with dependent children make up 20% in Northwold, less than in 95% of UK towns
Where 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns, Northwold has 14%. Census figures put households in flats at 0.9% in the village. Compared with other places, households without a car or van are scarce here: 9%, fewer than in 87% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 491 residents in the village, living in 235 households.
Older than 89% of UK towns: half of Northwold is over 50.9
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Where 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, Northwold has 8.9%. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are common here: 29%, more than in 88% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
3.8% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 89% 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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Northwold has 13%. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
Households here average 2 people, below 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.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults is 2.1%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. 34% of households are one person living alone.
In Northwold, 53% of households live in a detached house, more than in 92% of UK towns
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, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%; Northwold has 15%. 0.9% of households live in a flat, less than in 99% of UK towns; 53% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 97% 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
Where 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns, Northwold has 4.9%. The largest groups were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.6%) and in EU countries (1%). The wider picture: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Above 75% of UK towns: 95% of residents describe themselves as White British
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: 95% of Northwold · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 46% across England’s towns, 53% of residents describe themselves as Christian here. Residents with no religion: 37% of the total. Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British.
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 89% of UK towns: 26%
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
Married adults and civil partners make up 52%, against 44% across England’s towns. 19 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. The usual figure: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
30% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 30% of adults in Northwold (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 20% (England’s towns: 18%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Northwold, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwold | 491 | — | 50.9 | 29% | 20% |
| Methwold | 1,044 | 2.1 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 28% |
| Mundford | 1,563 | 3.5 mi | 50.7 | 26% | 24% |
| Stoke Ferry | 1,191 | 3.8 mi | 51.8 | 27% | 21% |
| Feltwell | 2,919 | 4.7 mi | 38.5 | 20% | 33% |
| Weeting | 1,883 | 5.4 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 23% |
| Hockwold cum Wilton | 1,303 | 5.6 mi | 47.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Brandon | 9,218 | 6.9 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 23% |
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 Northwold’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 Northwold’s residents
What is the population of Northwold?
The 2021 Census counted 491 people in Northwold’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Northwold?
The median age was 50.9 at the 2021 Census. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Northwold?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Northwold?
37% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 8% didn’t answer.
Is Northwold good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Northwold’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.