Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Wretton is older than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 53.2
Compared with 30% across England’s towns, nearly a fifth of households are one person living alone here. In 2021, the Census found 418 residents in Wretton, living in 181 households. Census figures put households with dependent children at 20% here. The village has more households in detached houses than 96% of UK towns, at 60%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 80% of UK towns, at 27%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 12% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 9.6%. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 2.2% of adults are full-time students in Wretton
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%.
Where just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, Wretton has 10%. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
A larger share of shared households of unrelated adults than 83% of UK towns: 3.3%
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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Wretton, 2.3. For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across England’s towns is 4.3%.
Below 98% of UK towns: 1.7% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
14% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. On top of that, fewer households without a car or van than in 96% of UK towns: 6.6%. As a yardstick, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 53% of UK towns, at 6.7%
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.9%). Higher than in 51% of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language. Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Wretton: 55% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 79% 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: 94% of Wretton · Norfolk’s towns 88% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (5.3%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Chinese (0.2%). The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are common here: 94%, more than in 62% of UK towns. Nearly two in five residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%).
Married adults and civil partners make up 61% in Wretton, 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
Where 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, Wretton has 24%. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 90% of UK towns. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. 9 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 30%
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 Wretton, 30%, and 15% have none, against 18%.
No nearby town is as old as Wretton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wretton | 418 | — | 53.2 | 27% | 20% |
| Stoke Ferry | 1,191 | 0.8 mi | 51.8 | 27% | 21% |
| Methwold | 1,044 | 4.2 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 28% |
| Southery | 1,258 | 5.1 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 27% |
| Downham Market | 11,349 | 5.3 mi | 48.2 | 30% | 22% |
| Feltwell | 2,919 | 5.9 mi | 38.5 | 20% | 33% |
| Marham | 2,608 | 6.4 mi | 30.1 | 9.8% | 39% |
| Hockwold cum Wilton | 1,303 | 7.7 mi | 47.5 | 23% | 25% |
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 Wretton’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 Wretton’s residents
What is the population of Wretton?
The 2021 Census counted 418 people in Wretton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Wretton?
The median age was 53.2 at the 2021 Census. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wretton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 88% across Norfolk’s towns. 6.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wretton?
39% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Wretton good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wretton’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.