Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0Pulham St Mary is older than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 52.2
Residents with no religion make up 51%, against 37% across England’s towns. Households with dependent children: nearly a quarter of the total. 49% of households live in a detached house, a higher share than in 89% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Pulham St Mary was home to 795 people in 359 households.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 7.5% in Pulham St Mary, less than in 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
29% of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Pulham St Mary 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%.
By class, nearly a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 22% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Here, 7.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Pulham St Mary households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 79% 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: 2.8% here and 4.3% across England’s towns. Here, 27% of households are one person living alone.
3.4% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 91% 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
With households in terraced houses at 9.5%, Pulham St Mary is behind 90% of UK towns on that count. Across England’s towns, households in flats come to 23%. The share of households without a car or van stands at 9.2%.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 96% of UK towns: 2.5%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.9%). 99% of residents have English as their main language, a higher share than in 97% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
98% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 99% 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: 98% of Pulham St Mary · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Pulham St Mary, 41% of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 46% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners make up 53% in Pulham St Mary, more than in 80% 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
With unpaid carers at 10%, Pulham St Mary is ahead of 76% of UK towns on that count. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are scarce here: 29%, fewer than in 77% of UK towns. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
21% of Pulham St Mary’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 27% have one at degree level (34%).
Older than Pulham St Mary: 2 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulham St Mary | 795 | — | 52.2 | 29% | 23% |
| Harleston | 5,077 | 2.6 mi | 47.6 | 29% | 24% |
| Dickleburgh | 1,166 | 3 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 33% |
| Long Stratton | 5,218 | 4.7 mi | 43.3 | 21% | 28% |
| Scole | 1,037 | 5.3 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 20% |
| Diss | 9,599 | 6.3 mi | 46.3 | 26% | 23% |
| Stradbroke | 1,190 | 7.2 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 20% |
| Roydon (South Norfolk) | 1,117 | 7.3 mi | 52.1 | 27% | 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 Pulham St Mary’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 Pulham St Mary’s residents
What is the population of Pulham St Mary?
The 2021 Census counted 795 people in Pulham St Mary’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Pulham St Mary?
The median age was 52.2 at the 2021 Census. 7.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Pulham St Mary?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 2.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pulham St Mary?
51% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Pulham St Mary good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Pulham St Mary’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.