Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 96% of UK towns: half of Shouldham is over 54.6
Adults who have never married: 22%, below 98% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 651 residents in 279 households. The share of households in detached houses stands at 66%. At 0.7%, the share of households in flats is lower than in 99% of UK towns.
More residents aged 65 and over than 97% of UK towns: 36%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here 7.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across England’s towns is 12%. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 82 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.
3.8% of adults are full-time students, below 90% of UK towns
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 take in just over a third of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 21% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year are more common here than in four fifths of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
20% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 93% 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.
In Shouldham, 32% of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. Households with dependent children make up 29% across England’s towns. Here, 2.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Below 92% of UK towns: 7.9% of households have no car or van
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 10%, Shouldham is behind 88% of UK towns on that count. Households without a car or van make up 24% across England’s towns.
In Shouldham, 3.8% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 80% 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
The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.7%) and in EU countries (1.2%). On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 99% here, more than in 79% of UK towns.
Shouldham: 96% of residents describe themselves as White British, above 93% 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: 96% of Shouldham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Shouldham comes in at 36%. Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 73% across England’s towns. For Shouldham, the census puts residents who describe themselves as Christian at 58%.
In Shouldham, 55% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 87% 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 24. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 10% here, more than in 69% of UK towns.
A degree-level qualification for 29% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Shouldham’s adults: 29% with a degree-level qualification and 26% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Every neighbour of Shouldham has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shouldham | 651 | — | 54.6 | 36% | 20% |
| Marham | 2,608 | 2.7 mi | 30.1 | 9.8% | 39% |
| Watlington | 2,593 | 3.8 mi | 43.3 | 20% | 28% |
| Narborough | 1,362 | 5 mi | 50.7 | 30% | 23% |
| West Winch | 2,828 | 5.1 mi | 50.6 | 28% | 26% |
| Downham Market | 11,349 | 5.4 mi | 48.2 | 30% | 22% |
| Stoke Ferry | 1,191 | 5.9 mi | 51.8 | 27% | 21% |
| Gayton | 1,522 | 6.9 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 27% |
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 Shouldham’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 Shouldham’s residents
What is the population of Shouldham?
The 2021 Census counted 651 people in Shouldham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shouldham?
The median age was 54.6 at the 2021 Census. 7.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 36% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shouldham?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 3.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shouldham?
36% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 4% didn’t answer.
Is Shouldham good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shouldham’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.