Photo: Hugh Venables · CC BY-SA 2.0Sheringham is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 59.3
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Sheringham, 2. The town has fewer households with dependent children than 98% of UK towns, at 17%. 7,087 residents in 3,410 households: that is Sheringham at the 2021 Census. Here, 96% of residents describe themselves as White British.
What the Census says about Sheringham’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Sheringham’s residents are under 59.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 40% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Sheringham at 7,300 in 2011 and 6,800 in 2024, down 7%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 99% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Sheringham changed by −7% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 99% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Sheringham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 7,300 people in 2011; 6,800 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+11%) and 16 to 29 least (−23%).
Above 99% of UK towns: 40% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Compared with 12% across England’s towns, 7.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24 here. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Sheringham, 59.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Sheringham sits below 94% of UK towns for full-time students (3.5%)
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 33% of Sheringham’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 23%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across Sheringham, 9.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
A higher share of one-person households than 89% of UK towns, at 36%
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.
On shared households of unrelated adults, Sheringham sits higher than 51% of UK towns: 2.4%. Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%.
More detached houses than 82% of UK towns: 43% of households
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
Here 13% of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. To put it in context, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. A fifth of households have no car or van. Sheringham has more households in flats than 86% of UK towns, at 22%.
99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 86% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). Sheringham has fewer residents born outside the UK than 71% of UK towns, at 4.5%. As a reference point, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 13% (England’s towns: 21%).
Sheringham sits above 87% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (57%)
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 Sheringham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
36% of residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%). Across the comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Chinese (0.3%).
Adults who have never married make up 24% in Sheringham, less than in 95% 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
Where 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns, Sheringham has 10%. The census found that 53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here. For adults who have never married, the comparison across England’s towns is 39%.
Among adults, 29% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Sheringham’s adults: 29% with a degree-level qualification and 19% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
6th highest median age among 538 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Red Lodge is the youngest (30.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Sheringham in age: Mablethorpe (58.3), Freshwater and Totland (59.1), Ashley Heath (60.6) and Seaton (61).
Around Sheringham, 1 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheringham | 7,087 | — | 59.3 | 40% | 17% |
| West Runton and Beeston Regis | 1,463 | 0.7 mi | 63.3 | 47% | 11% |
| Cromer | 7,522 | 4 mi | 56.2 | 37% | 16% |
| Holt | 4,014 | 5.2 mi | 57.5 | 40% | 15% |
| Briston | 1,983 | 8.7 mi | 51.7 | 31% | 22% |
| Melton Constable | 1,176 | 9.2 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 27% |
| Mundesley | 2,777 | 10 mi | 58.7 | 40% | 15% |
| Aylsham | 7,183 | 10.3 mi | 49.9 | 31% | 25% |
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 Sheringham’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. Sheringham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 7,087 people in 2021, against 7,087 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 Sheringham’s residents
What is the population of Sheringham?
The 2021 Census counted 7,087 people in Sheringham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,800 people in mid-2024, 7% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Sheringham?
The median age was 59.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 99% of UK towns. 7.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 40% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sheringham?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sheringham?
36% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Sheringham good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sheringham’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. 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.