Photo: Robert Lamb · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 37.9: Norwich is younger than 89% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%; Norwich has 27%. One-person households account for 36%. Few places have as many households in flats: 28% here, more than in 94% of UK towns. Its 89,937 households held 200,744 residents at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Norwich’s people
A student city
The 2021 Census counted 20,905 full-time students aged 16 and over, 12% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 97% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 16% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
A city people move to
14% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns, and 1.9% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
More with no religion than most
51% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 37% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Norwich’s residents are under 37.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 16% are 15 to 24 and 18% are 65 or over. 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.
Norwich grew +12% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 67% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Norwich’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 186,400 people in 2011; 208,200 in 2024.
By age, the 30 to 44 group changed most (+18%) and the 16 to 29 group least (+7%). The steepest year was mid-2015 to mid-2016, up 2,780 people.
16% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 20–24, with 9.4% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. In Norwich, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Norwich, 37.9. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
In Norwich, 12% of adults are full-time students, more than in 97% 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%.
Leave the students aside and Norwich’s other adults look much like England’s: 34% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. Locally, 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Only 23% of households in Norwich have dependent children
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, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Norwich, 6.3%. The wider picture: 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Average household size: 2.2 people.
Norwich ranks below 80% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 17%
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
The figure for households in terraced houses is 26% in Norwich and 24% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
More residents born abroad than 86% of UK towns: 15% in Norwich
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
Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 28%. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 92% of residents have English as their main language.
Residents with no religion: 51%, a higher share than 95% 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: 81% of Norwich · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Norwich, 81% of residents describe themselves as White British, beside 73% across England’s towns. Residents with no religion: 37% across England’s towns, for comparison. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (7.9%), Mixed or multiple (2.7%) and African (1.6%).
Married adults and civil partners make up 36% in Norwich, less than in 97% 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
Students and young renters account for much of that. On the census count, 46% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 8.2%, fewer than in four fifths of UK towns.
32% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 32% of its adults qualified to degree level, Norwich compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 18% hold no qualification (18%). Many still at university: 20% list A levels as their highest qualification.
From a median age of 23 in University & Avenues to 54 in Hellesdon North West
The city’s 24 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Hellesdon North West is the oldest area, with 32% aged 65 or over; University & Avenues the youngest (median age 23). Students cluster in University & Avenues, where 56% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Old Costessey & Queens Hills (40% of households).
22nd oldest of 45 UK towns of 141,000 to 271,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.9 in Cambridge to 44.6 in Poole. Nearest to Norwich in age: Merton (37.5), Huddersfield (37.7), Harrow (38.1) and Swindon (38.1).
Every nearby town is older than Norwich
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwich | 200,744 | — | 37.9 | 18% | 23% |
| Cringleford | 4,686 | 3.2 mi | 40.4 | 20% | 36% |
| Thorpe End | 1,173 | 3.4 mi | 53.2 | 29% | 23% |
| Costessey | 2,608 | 3.4 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 25% |
| Horsham St Faith | 1,051 | 3.5 mi | 49.7 | 25% | 24% |
| Spixworth | 3,418 | 3.6 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 23% |
| Rackheath | 1,761 | 4.2 mi | 41.4 | 18% | 33% |
| Taverham and Drayton | 14,989 | 4.5 mi | 46.6 | 23% | 28% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Norwich’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. Norwich’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 201,940 people in 2021, against 200,744 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 Norwich’s residents
What is the population of Norwich?
The 2021 Census counted 200,744 people in Norwich’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 208,200 people in mid-2024, 12% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Norwich?
The median age was 37.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 89% of UK towns. 16% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
Is Norwich a student city?
Yes: 12% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (20,905 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In University & Avenues, 56% of adults were students.
How diverse is Norwich?
81% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 15% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Norwich?
51% said they had no religion and 37% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.4% were Muslim and 6.7% didn’t answer.
Is Norwich good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Old Costessey & Queens Hills (40% of households). Schools are on Norwich’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.