Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 97% of UK towns: half of Badwell Ash is over 56.2
By its share of households with dependent children (22%), Badwell Ash is below 88% of UK towns. 98% of residents describe themselves as White British, a higher share than in 99% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 379 people lived in the village, in 184 households. Households in detached houses: 62% of the total.
Badwell Ash: 33% of residents are 65 or over, above 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with one in ten residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. Locally, 9.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year: 17%, a higher share than 97% 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%.
Full-time students: 4.5%, below 67% of UK towns. Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across England’s towns.
Badwell Ash households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 94% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Suffolk’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 3.8%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. The share of one-person households stands at 32%.
9.9% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 83% 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
13% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. Add to that, households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns.
Badwell Ash ranks below 99% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 2.1%
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.6%) and in EU countries (0.5%). The share of residents born outside the UK across England’s towns is 18%. 100% of residents have English as their main language (England’s towns: 90%).
Above 86% of UK towns: 56% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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: 98% of Badwell Ash · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 39% here and 37% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
25% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 91% 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
For 10 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. As a yardstick, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 64% of UK towns. Unpaid carers make up 9.3%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
24% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
24% of Badwell Ash’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 22% have none (18%).
Badwell Ash is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badwell Ash | 379 | — | 56.2 | 33% | 22% |
| Walsham le Willows | 1,258 | 1.7 mi | 49 | 25% | 25% |
| Elmswell | 4,446 | 3.1 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Stanton | 2,316 | 3.3 mi | 44.3 | 22% | 28% |
| Ixworth | 2,296 | 3.6 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 26% |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 4.2 mi | 52 | 31% | 21% |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 4.4 mi | 53.9 | 31% | 19% |
| Thurston | 3,009 | 5 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Suffolk’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Suffolk (or England), summed the same way as Badwell Ash’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 Badwell Ash’s residents
What is the population of Badwell Ash?
The 2021 Census counted 379 people in Badwell Ash’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Badwell Ash?
The median age was 56.2 at the 2021 Census. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Badwell Ash?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 2.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Badwell Ash?
39% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Badwell Ash good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Badwell Ash’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.