Photo: Michael Garlick · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Thetford is under 38.5, younger than 87% of UK towns
By its share of households in terraced houses (33%), Thetford is above 88% of UK towns. Here, 45% of residents said they have no religion. On one-person households, Thetford sits lower than 71% of UK towns: 27%. Census day 2021: 25,502 residents and 10,365 households in the town.
What the Census says about Thetford’s people
More born abroad than most towns
26% of residents were born outside the UK, against 10% across Norfolk’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (20%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.5%). Where people were born ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Thetford’s residents are under 38.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
A change of +3% since 2011 leaves Thetford behind 70% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Thetford’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 24,500 people in 2011; 25,300 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+19%) and the 16 to 29 least (−20%). In one year, mid-2013 to mid-2014, the population rose by 380, the most of any year.
16% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 87% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 11% in Thetford and 12% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. 30–34 is the most common age band: 7.8% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Thetford, 38.5. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
9.7% of residents moved in within a year, more than in 68% 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%.
In Thetford, 22% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 39% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Locally, 4.7% of adults are full-time students. Elsewhere, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Bigger households than 84% of UK towns: 2.4 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.
29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, against 31% in Thetford. Shared households of unrelated adults: 4.8% of the total.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 78% of UK towns, at 22%
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
Households in flats make up 14%, against 23% across England’s towns. One household in 5 has no car or van. Lower than in three fifths of UK towns: 26% of households live in a detached house.
Thetford sits above 96% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (26%)
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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (20%), then in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.5%). 81% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 98% of UK towns. The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns. Born abroad and arrived since 2017: nearly a fifth of that group, against 21% across England’s towns.
Thetford sits below 91% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (73%)
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: 73% of Thetford · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 46%, close to the figure across England’s towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (21%), Mixed or multiple (2.7%) and African (0.5%).
Only 42% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Thetford
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
38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. The share of unpaid carers stands at 7.6%. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 19% of adults
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 Thetford, 19%, and 26% have none, against 18%.
From a median age of 36 in Thetford North to 40 in Thetford Central & East
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Thetford Central & East is the oldest area, with 18% aged 65 or over; Thetford North the youngest (median age 36). Families with children are most common in Thetford North (34% of households).
246 UK towns of 18,000 to 34,000 people: this is the 25th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.1 in Egham to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Thetford in age: Stretford (38.3), Northwich (38.3), Reddish (38.6) and Falmouth (38.6).
6 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Thetford
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thetford | 25,502 | — | 38.5 | 16% | 31% |
| Brandon | 9,218 | 5.7 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 23% |
| Weeting | 1,883 | 6.7 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 23% |
| Mundford | 1,563 | 7.7 mi | 50.7 | 26% | 24% |
| East Harling | 2,490 | 8 mi | 49.4 | 29% | 25% |
| Stanton | 2,316 | 8.4 mi | 44.3 | 22% | 28% |
| Ixworth | 2,296 | 8.8 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 26% |
| Little Eriswell | 4,120 | 9 mi | 23.9 | 0.7% | 54% |
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 Thetford’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Thetford’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 25,250 people in 2021, against 25,502 in the built-up area.
- 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 Thetford’s residents
What is the population of Thetford?
The 2021 Census counted 25,502 people in Thetford’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 25,300 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Thetford?
The median age was 38.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 87% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thetford?
73% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 26% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thetford?
45% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Thetford good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Thetford North (34% of households). Schools are on Thetford’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.