Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 1.7% of households have no car or van in Waterloo
Households in detached houses make up 69%, against 21% across England’s towns. Waterloo had 627 residents and 235 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 48.5. Here, 62% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Lower than in 99% of UK towns: 14% of households are one person living alone.
Waterloo is older than 77% of UK towns: a median age of 48.5
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
23% of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%). Here, 9.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
In Waterloo, 3.1% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 98% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 7.2%, below just over four fifths of UK towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Waterloo households average 2.6 people, larger than in 97% 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.
On shared households of unrelated adults, 4.7% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Households with dependent children: 27% of the total.
Households in flats make up 0.9% in Waterloo, less 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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 3.8% of households live in a terraced house in Waterloo. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%.
Waterloo: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 71% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.6%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%). The wider picture: 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents born outside the UK: 4.9% here, fewer than in nearly two thirds of UK towns.
In Waterloo, 47% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 84% 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: 95% of Waterloo · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 95%, against 73% across England’s towns. Here, 45% of residents describe themselves as Christian. As a reference point, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 90% 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 share of unpaid carers is 10%, against 8.7% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 24%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 24% of adults in Waterloo, 34% across England’s towns; 18% have no qualification, against 18%.
Nearby, 3 of 7 towns have older populations than Waterloo
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | 627 | — | 48.5 | 23% | 27% |
| Hevingham | 1,039 | 1.9 mi | 43.8 | 18% | 33% |
| Horsham St Faith | 1,051 | 2.3 mi | 49.7 | 25% | 24% |
| Horsford | 4,396 | 2.5 mi | 38.8 | 16% | 34% |
| Spixworth | 3,418 | 2.9 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 23% |
| Coltishall and Horstead | 2,255 | 3.1 mi | 51.7 | 30% | 23% |
| Badersfield | 1,490 | 3.5 mi | 37.9 | 12% | 40% |
| Taverham and Drayton | 14,989 | 4.3 mi | 46.6 | 23% | 28% |
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 Waterloo’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 Waterloo’s residents
What is the population of Waterloo?
The 2021 Census counted 627 people in Waterloo’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Waterloo?
The median age was 48.5 at the 2021 Census. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Waterloo?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Waterloo?
47% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Waterloo good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Waterloo’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.