Photo: Craig Tuck · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 53.2: Thorpe End is older than 94% of UK towns
Here nine in ten households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. At the 2021 Census, 1,173 people lived in Thorpe End, in 496 households. In Thorpe End, 2.2% of households live in a flat or apartment. Lower than in 87% of UK towns: 33% of residents said they have no religion.
What the Census says about Thorpe End’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Thorpe End’s residents are under 53.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Only 7.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Thorpe End
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. 29% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 89% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
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.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 99% of UK towns, at 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%.
4.4% of adults are full-time students (England’s towns: 7.9%). The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns: 11%.
A lower share of one-person households than 89% of UK towns, at 24%
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.
Families with dependent children are nearly a quarter of households (England’s towns 29%), and 16% are someone 66 or over living alone (Norfolk’s towns 15%). Across the comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Each household has 2.4 people on average. On shared households of unrelated adults, Thorpe End sits higher than 71% of UK towns: 2.8%.
Fewer households in terraced houses than 99% of UK towns: 1.8%
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
With households without a car or van at 5.1%, Thorpe End is behind 99% of UK towns on that count. Across England’s towns, households in terraced houses come to 24%.
More residents whose main language is English than 93% of UK towns: 99%
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
Set against 18% across England’s towns, 7.7% of residents were born outside the UK in Thorpe End. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.3%). Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
58% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 90% 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: 93% of Thorpe End · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 93%, against 73% across England’s towns. For comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (0.9%).
In Thorpe End, 66% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 99% 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
A fifth of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; across England’s towns the figure is 39%. On the census count, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 41%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
41% of Thorpe End’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 9.3% have none (18%).
Around Thorpe End, 1 of 7 towns have a higher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorpe End | 1,173 | — | 53.2 | 29% | 23% |
| Rackheath | 1,761 | 1.1 mi | 41.4 | 18% | 33% |
| Little Plumstead | 1,915 | 2.1 mi | 37.5 | 16% | 36% |
| Salhouse | 1,431 | 2.6 mi | 52.8 | 31% | 22% |
| Spixworth | 3,418 | 3.1 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 23% |
| Blofield Heath | 1,430 | 3.2 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 23% |
| Brundall | 4,378 | 3.4 mi | 51 | 30% | 24% |
| Norwich | 200,744 | 3.4 mi | 37.9 | 18% | 23% |
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 Thorpe End’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 Thorpe End’s residents
What is the population of Thorpe End?
The 2021 Census counted 1,173 people in Thorpe End’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Thorpe End?
The median age was 53.2 at the 2021 Census. 7.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thorpe End?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 7.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thorpe End?
33% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 7.2% didn’t answer.
Is Thorpe End good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thorpe End’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.