Photo: Amanda Slater from Coventry, England · CC BY-SA 2.0Bawdsey is older than 98% of UK towns: a median age of 56.4
Households in flats: 0.8% here and 23% across England’s towns. For Bawdsey, the census puts households with dependent children at 20%. Lower than in 99% of UK towns: 3.3% of households have no car or van. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 290, in 122 households.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 96% of UK towns: 34%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 12% across England’s towns, 8.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Bawdsey. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
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.
Bawdsey sits below 86% of UK towns for full-time students (3.9%)
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%.
By its share of residents who moved in within the year (12%), Bawdsey is above 89% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 0.8% in Bawdsey, less than in 99% 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.
The typical household size is 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The census found that 23% of households are one person living alone in Bawdsey. Set beside that, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Bawdsey sits above 96% of UK towns for households in detached houses (59%)
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
By its share of households in terraced houses (14%), Bawdsey is below three quarters of UK towns. Meanwhile, 0.8% of households live in a flat, less than in 99% of UK towns; 59% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Bawdsey ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 100%
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.8%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.4%). Few places have as many residents born outside the UK: 7.6% here, more than in 61% of UK towns. Typically, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 59%, a higher share than 93% 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 Bawdsey · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
94% of residents describe themselves as White British (England’s towns: 73%). The wider picture: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Here, just over a third of residents said they have no religion.
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 99% of UK towns: 61%
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
Compared with 8.7% across England’s towns, 10% of residents give unpaid care here. Fewer adults who have never married than in 95% of UK towns: 24%. Typically, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Among adults, 48% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 48% of adults in Bawdsey, 34% across England’s towns; 9.1% have no qualification, against 18%.
Every neighbour of Bawdsey has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bawdsey | 290 | — | 56.4 | 34% | 20% |
| Kirton | 1,245 | 4.2 mi | 51.8 | 28% | 24% |
| Felixstowe | 24,218 | 4.4 mi | 51 | 29% | 20% |
| Trimley St Mary | 3,736 | 4.6 mi | 48.4 | 25% | 24% |
| Trimley St Martin | 1,725 | 4.7 mi | 45.9 | 21% | 24% |
| Sutton Common | 1,262 | 5.2 mi | 29 | 12% | 43% |
| Martlesham Heath | 2,730 | 7.1 mi | 54.5 | 34% | 18% |
| Martlesham | 1,976 | 7.3 mi | 47.8 | 28% | 28% |
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 Bawdsey’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 Bawdsey’s residents
What is the population of Bawdsey?
The 2021 Census counted 290 people in Bawdsey’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bawdsey?
The median age was 56.4 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bawdsey?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 7.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bawdsey?
34% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Bawdsey good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bawdsey’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.