Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of households in terraced houses than 97% of UK towns, at 6.2%
Households in detached houses make up 60%, against 21% across England’s towns. 2,459 residents in 1,046 households: that is Shipdham at the 2021 Census. For Shipdham, the census puts residents who describe themselves as White British at 95%. On married adults and civil partners, Shipdham sits higher than 75% of UK towns: 52%.
What the Census says about Shipdham’s people
Many older residents
28% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 86% of UK towns; 17% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 86% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Shipdham’s residents are over 48.6, older than in 77% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24: a tenth of the total. The largest age band is 70–74: 7.4% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
Below 88% of UK towns: 3.9% of adults are full-time students
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, 27% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 29% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On the census count, 8.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
25% of households have dependent children, below 70% 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.
28% of households are one person living alone (England’s towns: 30%). For comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.7% of the total.
3.3% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer 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
With households without a car or van at 13%, Shipdham is behind 63% of UK towns on that count. By way of comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 75% of UK towns, at 99%
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2%), then in Africa (1%). Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. On residents born outside the UK, Shipdham sits lower than 69% of UK towns: 4.6%. Arrivals from 2017 on account for 13% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns.
In Shipdham, 42% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 60% 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: 95% of Shipdham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Indian (0.1%). The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%. Higher than in 54% of UK towns: 50% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
Below 84% of UK towns: 27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 77 residents. On average, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. At 10%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in nearly three quarters of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Shipdham counts 23% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 22% have no qualification (18%).
4 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Shipdham
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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 Shipdham’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 Shipdham’s residents
What is the population of Shipdham?
The 2021 Census counted 2,459 people in Shipdham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shipdham?
The median age was 48.6 at the 2021 Census. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shipdham?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shipdham?
42% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Shipdham good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shipdham’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.