Photo: Bernd Jatzwauk Pommes104 · CC BY-SA 3.0Half of Potter Heigham is over 61.6, older than 99% of UK towns
In Potter Heigham, just over one in ten households have dependent children, beside 29% across England’s towns. Census day 2021: 821 residents and 388 households locally. Here, 59% of households live in a detached house. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 96% of UK towns.
44% of Potter Heigham is 65 or over, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 6.4%, below 99% of UK towns. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
Potter Heigham ranks below 99% of UK towns on full-time students: 3%
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 27% of Potter Heigham’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 30%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 8.9% in the village.
Potter Heigham households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 96% 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.
One-person households: 31%, above three fifths of UK towns. Locally, 2.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Households in flats make up 3.1% in Potter Heigham, less 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
9% of households live in a terraced house (England’s towns: 24%). Few places have so few households without a car or van: 8% here, fewer than in 92% of UK towns. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 95% of UK towns: 2.7%
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
Against a figure of 90% across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English in Potter Heigham comes in at 100%. As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1%) and in Africa (0.6%).
Above 92% of UK towns: 96% 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: 96% of Potter Heigham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
35% of residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%). Across Potter Heigham, 53% of residents describe themselves as Christian. To put it in context, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Potter Heigham sits below 98% of UK towns for adults who have never married (22%)
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
In Potter Heigham, 53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 32.
Degree-level qualifications reach 19% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
19% of Potter Heigham’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 26% have none (18%).
No nearby town is as old as Potter Heigham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potter Heigham | 821 | — | 61.6 | 44% | 12% |
| Martham | 3,633 | 2.5 mi | 50.4 | 29% | 24% |
| Sutton | 1,026 | 3.5 mi | 50.6 | 29% | 25% |
| Stalham | 3,383 | 4.3 mi | 49 | 29% | 20% |
| Hemsby | 5,724 | 5.1 mi | 57.9 | 37% | 17% |
| Acle | 2,268 | 5.4 mi | 54 | 34% | 18% |
| Ormesby St Margaret | 2,741 | 5.7 mi | 52.9 | 30% | 20% |
| Hoveton and Wroxham | 3,620 | 6.8 mi | 56.4 | 38% | 19% |
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 Potter Heigham’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 Potter Heigham’s residents
What is the population of Potter Heigham?
The 2021 Census counted 821 people in Potter Heigham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Potter Heigham?
The median age was 61.6 at the 2021 Census. 6.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 44% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Potter Heigham?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 2.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Potter Heigham?
35% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 10% didn’t answer.
Is Potter Heigham good for families?
12% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Potter Heigham’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.