Photo: Oxyman · CC BY 2.5Fewer families than 87% of UK towns: 23% of households have children
Households average 2.1 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. 42% of households live in a detached house, more than in 81% of UK towns. Brandon is home to 9,218 residents in 4,302 households, by the 2021 Census. On the census count, 83% of residents describe themselves as White British.
Brandon changed by +1% from 2011 to 2024, behind 80% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Brandon’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 9,700 people in 2011; 9,800 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2016 to mid-2017, up 260 people. Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+18%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−19%).
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 68% of UK towns: 24%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 25–29: 6.9% of residents. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The median age in Brandon is 44.7, higher than in just over half of UK towns. At the same time, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 9.3%, against 12% across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Brandon, 44.7. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Brandon sits below 89% of UK towns for full-time students (3.8%)
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%.
Just over a fifth of Brandon’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 37% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across Brandon, one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Brandon ranks above 89% of UK towns on one-person households: 36%
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.
2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%. Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%.
Households in terraced houses make up 17% in Brandon, less than in 62% 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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 17% of households have no car or van here. Nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment, a lower share than in 60% of UK towns.
Below 87% of UK towns: 92% of residents have English as their main language
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (8%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (6.8%). The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%. Set against 18% across England’s towns, 17% of residents were born outside the UK in Brandon.
No religion: 44% of residents, a higher share than 69% 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: 83% of Brandon · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
48% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (11%), Mixed or multiple (2.3%) and African (0.5%).
47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 58% 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 number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 312. Across the comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a lower share than in 58% of UK towns. Unpaid carers are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 9.4%.
Qualified to degree level: 18% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 18% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 29% hold no qualification (18%).
239th lowest median age among 482 UK towns of 6,000 to 12,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tidworth (28.4) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Brandon in age: Malton (44.6), Hemsworth (44.6), Whitfield (44.7) and Milford and Witley (44.7).
Older than Brandon: 3 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon | 9,218 | — | 44.7 | 24% | 23% |
| Weeting | 1,883 | 1.5 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 23% |
| Hockwold cum Wilton | 1,303 | 3.4 mi | 47.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Lakenheath | 4,567 | 4.7 mi | 42.7 | 23% | 22% |
| Mundford | 1,563 | 4.7 mi | 50.7 | 26% | 24% |
| Feltwell | 2,919 | 5.1 mi | 38.5 | 20% | 33% |
| Little Eriswell | 4,120 | 5.2 mi | 23.9 | 0.7% | 54% |
| Thetford | 25,502 | 5.7 mi | 38.5 | 16% | 31% |
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 Brandon’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Brandon’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 9,684 people in 2021, against 9,218 in the built-up area.
- 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 Brandon’s residents
What is the population of Brandon?
The 2021 Census counted 9,218 people in Brandon’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 9,800 people in mid-2024, 1% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Brandon?
The median age was 44.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 51% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Brandon?
83% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 17% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Brandon?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Brandon good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Brandon’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.