Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer flats than 99% of UK towns: 0.6% of households
The share of households in detached houses tops 92% of UK towns: 54%. Fewer one-person households than in 94% of UK towns: 23%. There were 509 households in Southery at the 2021 Census, home to 1,258 residents. Residents with no religion account for 46%.
A young village: 10% of residents are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 9% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. The census found that just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in Southery. The median age locally is 44.7, higher than in just over half of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
7.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 78% 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%.
Where 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, Southery has 4.6%. On average, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Bigger households than 86% of UK towns: 2.5 people each 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.
Against a figure of 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Southery comes in at 3%. Households with dependent children account for 27%.
Fewer households without a car or van than 93% of UK towns: 7.7%
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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten households live in a terraced house in Southery. One household in every 13 has no car or van.
4.6% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 69% 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 EU countries (2.7%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1%). 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: 98% here, more than in 63% of UK towns.
94% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 64% 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: 94% of Southery · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
48% of residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%). To put it in context, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (3.7%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Caribbean (0.2%).
Above 73% of UK towns: 36% 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
Married adults and civil partners make up 47%, against 44% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 50 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 9.9% here, more than in nearly two thirds of UK towns.
18% of adults are qualified to 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 Southery, 18%, and 27% have none, against 18%.
A younger town than 4 of the 7 around it: Southery
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southery | 1,258 | — | 44.7 | 22% | 27% |
| Downham Market | 11,349 | 5.3 mi | 48.2 | 30% | 22% |
| Stoke Ferry | 1,191 | 5.8 mi | 51.8 | 27% | 21% |
| Feltwell | 2,919 | 6.1 mi | 38.5 | 20% | 33% |
| Littleport | 9,170 | 6.2 mi | 38.6 | 17% | 30% |
| Methwold | 1,044 | 6.6 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 28% |
| Hockwold cum Wilton | 1,303 | 7.8 mi | 47.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Upwell and Outwell | 3,664 | 8.9 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 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 Southery’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 Southery’s residents
What is the population of Southery?
The 2021 Census counted 1,258 people in Southery’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Southery?
The median age was 44.7 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Southery?
94% 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 Southery?
46% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Southery good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Southery’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.