Photo: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.03.6% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
53% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. In Swainsthorpe, 50% of residents said they have no religion. One-person households are rarer here than in 94% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 392 residents in 163 households.
Swainsthorpe is older than 73% of UK towns: a median age of 47.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 24%, against 18% across England’s towns. No age band is larger than 50–54: 8.1% of residents.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
16% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 97% of UK towns don’t reach
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 two in five adults here, routine and semi-routine work 17% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Census figures put full-time students at 4.9% in Swainsthorpe. Set beside that, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Only 23% of households in Swainsthorpe have dependent children
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.
4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, against 3.1% in Swainsthorpe. As a yardstick, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Swainsthorpe ranks below 79% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 13%
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
7.8% of households live in a flat or apartment; across England’s towns the figure is 23%. Typically, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
98% of residents have English as their main language, a share 68% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (3.1%), then in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.5%). The usual figure: 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Across England’s towns the share born abroad is 18%; in Swainsthorpe it is 6.1%.
Above 79% of UK towns: 95% of residents describe themselves as White British
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 Swainsthorpe · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 46% across England’s towns, 44% of residents describe themselves as Christian here. Set beside that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (3.3%), African (0.8%) and Mixed or multiple (0.5%).
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 86% of UK towns: 54%
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
Compared with 39% across England’s towns, 32% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. The share of unpaid carers stands at 6.7%. Measured more widely, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Among adults, 32% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 32% of Swainsthorpe’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 12% have no qualification (18%).
Median age: 1 of the 7 towns around Swainsthorpe are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swainsthorpe | 392 | — | 47.7 | 24% | 23% |
| Stoke Holy Cross | 1,237 | 1.2 mi | 42.8 | 18% | 33% |
| Mulbarton | 3,807 | 1.6 mi | 42.7 | 21% | 30% |
| Newton Flotman | 1,418 | 1.8 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 27% |
| Poringland | 7,105 | 3.1 mi | 45.6 | 24% | 27% |
| Cringleford | 4,686 | 3.4 mi | 40.4 | 20% | 36% |
| Hethersett | 7,018 | 4.9 mi | 42.5 | 24% | 29% |
| Little Melton | 1,049 | 5.1 mi | 48.9 | 25% | 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 Swainsthorpe’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 Swainsthorpe’s residents
What is the population of Swainsthorpe?
The 2021 Census counted 392 people in Swainsthorpe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Swainsthorpe?
The median age was 47.7 at the 2021 Census. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Swainsthorpe?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 6.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Swainsthorpe?
50% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Swainsthorpe good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Swainsthorpe’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.