Photo: Grant Brewer · CC BY-SA 2.0Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.1%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, against 4.6% in South Walsham. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 409, in 175 households. The share of households in flats stands at 1.7%. On one-person households, South Walsham sits lower than 85% of UK towns: 25%.
Fewer young people than 94% of UK towns: 7.8% are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 18% across England’s towns, 19% of residents are 65 or over in South Walsham. Measured more widely, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. With a median age of 46.2, South Walsham is older than 63% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 2.8% of adults are full-time students in South Walsham
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%.
38% of South Walsham’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Here, 8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households with dependent children make up 31% in South Walsham, more 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.
Households average 2.4 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The usual figure: 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
South Walsham ranks below 89% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 8.6%
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
35% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Households without a car or van: 24% across England’s towns, for comparison.
South Walsham sits above 99% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.2%) and in Africa (1.2%). For residents whose main language is English, the comparison across England’s towns is 90%. Few places have so few residents born outside the UK: 3.2% here, fewer than in 88% of UK towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 95% in South Walsham, more than in 78% 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 South Walsham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
44% of residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%). By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Mixed or multiple (2%), Other White (1.7%) and Chinese (0.2%). At 48%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in 64% of UK towns.
South Walsham: 12% of residents give unpaid care, above 94% 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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 14 people. Typically, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. At 29%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in three quarters of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 35% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 35% of South Walsham’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 13% have no qualification (18%).
South Walsham sits below 5 of its 7 closest neighbours on 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Walsham | 409 | — | 46.2 | 19% | 31% |
| Blofield Heath | 1,430 | 2.2 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 23% |
| Blofield | 2,667 | 2.6 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 29% |
| Lingwood | 2,368 | 2.8 mi | 48.4 | 27% | 25% |
| Acle | 2,268 | 3 mi | 54 | 34% | 18% |
| Salhouse | 1,431 | 3.3 mi | 52.8 | 31% | 22% |
| Little Plumstead | 1,915 | 3.3 mi | 37.5 | 16% | 36% |
| Brundall | 4,378 | 3.6 mi | 51 | 30% | 24% |
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 South Walsham’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 South Walsham’s residents
What is the population of South Walsham?
The 2021 Census counted 409 people in South Walsham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in South Walsham?
The median age was 46.2 at the 2021 Census. 7.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is South Walsham?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in South Walsham?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is South Walsham good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on South Walsham’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.