Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 58.4: Brandeston is older than 99% of UK towns
The figure for households in detached houses is 73% in Brandeston and 21% across England’s towns. Meanwhile, on households in terraced houses, Brandeston sits lower than 98% of UK towns: 4.8%. Its 127 households held 269 residents at the 2021 Census. 63% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Residents aged 65 and over: 39%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: 14% of residents, 3 times the share across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 6.7%. In Halesworth, the oldest of Suffolk’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
A lower share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns, at 3%
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%.
For Brandeston, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 8.6%. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Below 99% of UK towns: 16% of households have dependent children
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.
3.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Households average 2.1 people. On one-person households, Brandeston sits lower than 75% of UK towns: 27%. Typically, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Brandeston ranks below 99% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 1.6%
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
6.4% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 9% in Brandeston, more than in 70% 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 the Middle East and Asia (5.3%) or in Africa (1.9%). Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 98% here, fewer than in 51% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
54% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 78% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 91% of Brandeston · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (4.4%), Indian (1.5%) and Chinese (0.7%). 91% of residents describe themselves as White British, a lower share than in 59% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Where 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, Brandeston has 36%.
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 99% of UK towns: 19%
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
6 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 62% of UK towns. By way of comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
53% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 53% of adults in Brandeston (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 4.3% (England’s towns: 18%).
Every nearby town is younger than Brandeston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandeston | 269 | — | 58.4 | 39% | 16% |
| Framlingham | 3,831 | 2.8 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 27% |
| Wickham Market | 2,231 | 4.5 mi | 52 | 33% | 21% |
| Debenham | 2,294 | 5 mi | 49.7 | 29% | 27% |
| Grundisburgh | 1,424 | 6.3 mi | 49 | 27% | 28% |
| Melton | 1,608 | 6.5 mi | 50.3 | 26% | 21% |
| Rendlesham | 3,185 | 7.3 mi | 40.6 | 17% | 35% |
| Woodbridge | 10,146 | 7.3 mi | 53.3 | 33% | 21% |
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 Brandeston’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 Brandeston’s residents
What is the population of Brandeston?
The 2021 Census counted 269 people in Brandeston’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Brandeston?
The median age was 58.4 at the 2021 Census. 6.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 39% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Brandeston?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Brandeston?
36% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Brandeston good for families?
16% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Brandeston’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.