Photo: Christine Johnstone · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 60.9: Thornham is older than 99% of UK towns
Households average 2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Thornham was home to 433 people in 221 households. Census figures put households in flats at 0.5% in the village. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 96% here, more than in 83% of UK towns.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of UK towns: 43%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 4.1%, Thornham is behind 99% of UK towns on that count. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
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.
Thornham sits below 99% of UK towns for full-time students (1.5%)
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 37% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 20% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
13% of households have dependent children, below 99% 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.
In Thornham, 33% of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. For comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Locally, 2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
In Thornham, 5.9% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 97% of UK towns
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
The share of households in terraced houses trails four fifths of UK towns: 13%. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns. In Thornham, 51% of households live in a detached house.
Thornham: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 89% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (4.2%), then in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.4%). Compared with other places, residents born outside the UK are common here: 7.2%, more than in 58% of UK towns. As a yardstick, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 57%, a higher share than 89% 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: 96% of Thornham · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
34% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (3%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and Chinese (0.2%).
Adults who have never married: 24%, a lower share than 95% 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 13. At 53%, the share of married adults and civil partners is higher than in 80% of UK towns. Across the comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. One in ten residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns.
31% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Thornham counts 31% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 22% have no qualification (18%).
Nearby, 1 of 5 towns have older populations than Thornham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornham | 433 | — | 60.9 | 43% | 13% |
| Hunstanton | 4,230 | 4.5 mi | 61.3 | 44% | 12% |
| Heacham | 3,978 | 5.6 mi | 60.1 | 43% | 13% |
| Snettisham | 2,709 | 6.9 mi | 59.1 | 41% | 17% |
| Dersingham | 4,753 | 8.6 mi | 58.6 | 41% | 17% |
| Wells-next-the-Sea | 2,151 | 10.9 mi | 58.5 | 39% | 16% |
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 Thornham’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 Thornham’s residents
What is the population of Thornham?
The 2021 Census counted 433 people in Thornham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Thornham?
The median age was 60.9 at the 2021 Census. 4.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 43% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thornham?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 7.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thornham?
34% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.7% didn’t answer.
Is Thornham good for families?
13% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thornham’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.