Photo: Nigel Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Rackheath sits above 95% of UK towns for households in detached houses (59%)
Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%; Rackheath has 24%. Its 705 households held 1,761 residents at the 2021 Census. Households without a car or van account for 7.5%. Few places have as many households with dependent children: 33% here, more than in 89% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Rackheath’s people
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 43% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Rackheath is younger than 73% of UK towns: a median age of 41.4
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are scarce here: 18%, fewer than in nearly three quarters of UK towns. More residents are 45–49 than any other five-year age: 7.9% of residents.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 4.5% of adults are full-time students in Rackheath
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%.
Just over a third of Rackheath’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 20% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. On residents who moved in within the year, Rackheath sits higher than just over four fifths of UK towns: 11%. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Larger households than 86% of UK towns: 2.5 people on average
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.
1.8% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
Fewer households in flats than 92% of UK towns: 3.3%
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 24% across England’s towns, 9.7% of households live in a terraced house here. To put it in context, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
4.7% of residents were born outside the UK, below 68% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.7%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). On residents whose main language is English, Rackheath sits higher than nearly two thirds of UK towns: 98%. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Rackheath sits above 90% of UK towns for residents with no religion (49%)
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 Rackheath · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Chinese (0.3%). Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in three quarters of UK towns. Here 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian, where the figure across England’s towns is 46%.
Rackheath sits above 69% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (51%)
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
Adults who have never married make up 31%, against 39% across England’s towns. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 49 people. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 9.1%, fewer than in 57% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
25% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Rackheath, 25%, and 15% have none, against 18%.
Median age: 6 of the 7 towns around Rackheath 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rackheath | 1,761 | — | 41.4 | 18% | 33% |
| Thorpe End | 1,173 | 1.1 mi | 53.2 | 29% | 23% |
| Salhouse | 1,431 | 1.6 mi | 52.8 | 31% | 22% |
| Little Plumstead | 1,915 | 1.9 mi | 37.5 | 16% | 36% |
| Blofield Heath | 1,430 | 2.8 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 23% |
| Spixworth | 3,418 | 2.8 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 23% |
| Hoveton and Wroxham | 3,620 | 3.4 mi | 56.4 | 38% | 19% |
| Blofield | 2,667 | 3.5 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 29% |
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 Rackheath’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 Rackheath’s residents
What is the population of Rackheath?
The 2021 Census counted 1,761 people in Rackheath’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Rackheath?
The median age was 41.4 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rackheath?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Rackheath?
49% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 7.4% didn’t answer.
Is Rackheath good for families?
33% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Rackheath’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.