Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Sporle is over 54.6, older than 96% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment; in Sporle, 0.8%. The 2021 Census counted 791 residents in 361 households. For Sporle, the census puts households with dependent children at 17%. The village has fewer households in terraced houses than 93% of UK towns, at 8.1%.
32% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 94% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
60–64 is the most common age band: 9.8% of residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. On the census count, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
In Sporle, 3.6% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 93% 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%.
Here 6.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, where the figure across England’s towns is 11%. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Sporle households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 76% 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.
1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%. Locally, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Sporle sits above 94% of UK towns for households in detached houses (56%)
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
Across England’s towns, 24% of households have no car or van; in Sporle, 9.9%. Measured more widely, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Sporle, 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
In Sporle, 4.3% of residents were born outside the UK, beside 18% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%) and in EU countries (1.4%).
Sporle sits above 92% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (96%)
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 Sporle · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 53% in Sporle and 46% across England’s towns. For residents who describe themselves as White British, the comparison across England’s towns is 73%. Census figures put residents with no religion at 39% locally.
54% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 84% of UK towns don’t reach
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
27 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. The wider picture: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are scarce here: 29%, fewer than in 77% of UK towns. Unpaid carers: 10% here and 8.7% across England’s towns.
Among adults, 22% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 22% of adults in Sporle, 34% across England’s towns; 24% have no qualification, against 18%.
Sporle sits below 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sporle | 791 | — | 54.6 | 32% | 17% |
| Necton | 1,742 | 2.3 mi | 57.3 | 38% | 19% |
| Swaffham | 8,434 | 2.4 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 21% |
| Ashill | 1,252 | 4.7 mi | 57.6 | 39% | 17% |
| Narborough | 1,362 | 6.3 mi | 50.7 | 30% | 23% |
| Saham Toney | 1,287 | 6.4 mi | 57.5 | 37% | 15% |
| Shipdham | 2,459 | 7.4 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 25% |
| Watton | 11,549 | 7.9 mi | 43.1 | 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 Sporle’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 Sporle’s residents
What is the population of Sporle?
The 2021 Census counted 791 people in Sporle’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sporle?
The median age was 54.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 32% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sporle?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sporle?
39% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Sporle good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sporle’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.