Photo: Bernd Jatzwauk Pommes104 · CC BY-SA 3.0Wacton is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 55
Households without a car or van make up 4.2%, against 24% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 343 people lived in Wacton, in 143 households. Across Wacton, 13% of residents give unpaid care. The village has fewer households in flats than 99% of UK towns, at 1.4%.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns, at 5.6%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 18% across England’s towns, 28% of residents are 65 or over in Wacton. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
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.
Wacton ranks below 99% of UK towns on full-time students: 1.7%
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%.
6.7% of residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Only 19% of households in Wacton are one person living alone
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.
Just over a fifth of households have dependent children (England’s towns: 29%). Few places have as many shared households of unrelated adults: 3.5% here, more than in 86% of UK towns. For one-person households, the comparison across England’s towns is 30%. On average, 2.4 people share a household.
68% of households live in a detached house, more than in 99% 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
4.8% of households live in a terraced house (England’s towns: 24%). By way of comparison, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Wacton: 100% of residents have English as their main language, above 99% 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
Across England’s towns the share born abroad is 18%; in Wacton it is 3.5%. Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2%) and in Africa (0.9%).
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, 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: 96% of Wacton · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (1.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (0.6%). Higher than in nearly three quarters of UK towns: 54% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British. The share of residents with no religion is 40%, against 37% across England’s towns.
Above 99% of UK towns: 64% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
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
23% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Wacton counts 37% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 16% have no qualification (18%).
No nearby town is as old as Wacton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wacton | 343 | — | 55 | 28% | 22% |
| Long Stratton | 5,218 | 1.3 mi | 43.3 | 21% | 28% |
| Newton Flotman | 1,418 | 4.6 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 27% |
| Mulbarton | 3,807 | 5.4 mi | 42.7 | 21% | 30% |
| Dickleburgh | 1,166 | 5.7 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 33% |
| Harleston | 5,077 | 6.6 mi | 47.6 | 29% | 24% |
| Stoke Holy Cross | 1,237 | 7.2 mi | 42.8 | 18% | 33% |
| Wymondham | 16,334 | 7.6 mi | 43 | 21% | 29% |
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 Wacton’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 Wacton’s residents
What is the population of Wacton?
The 2021 Census counted 343 people in Wacton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Wacton?
The median age was 55 at the 2021 Census. 5.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wacton?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 3.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wacton?
40% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Wacton good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wacton’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.