The Grange · Photo: Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 60.6: Chelsworth is older than 99% of UK towns
In Chelsworth, 15% of households have dependent children, beside 29% across England’s towns. Fewer one-person households than in 97% of UK towns: 21%. Census day 2021: 212 residents and 96 households in the village. Across Chelsworth, 1.1% of households live in a flat or apartment.
Above 99% of UK towns: 42% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Here 4.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across England’s towns is 12%. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
Only 3.7% of adults are full-time students in Chelsworth
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 47% of Chelsworth’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 15%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%. On the census count, 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Smaller households than 85% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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.
Chelsworth sits close to the norm on shared households of unrelated adults: 4.2%, about the same as across England’s towns.
Chelsworth ranks below 99% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 4.2%
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
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses in Chelsworth comes in at 7.5%. Here, 77% of households live in a detached house.
99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 73% 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 EU countries (2.8%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.4%). Compared with other places, residents born outside the UK are common here: 6.6%, more than in 52% of UK towns. Across the comparison, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
59% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 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: 96% of Chelsworth · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 36% here and 37% across England’s towns. 96% of residents describe themselves as White British. Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
In Chelsworth, 19% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer 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
4 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 63%, more than in 99% of UK towns. For adults who have never married, the comparison across England’s towns is 39%. Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 9.6%, from the figure across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 45%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 45% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 6.8% hold no qualification (18%).
Nearby, 1 of 7 towns have older populations than Chelsworth
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsworth | 212 | — | 60.6 | 42% | 15% |
| Bildeston | 1,096 | 1.2 mi | 50.1 | 24% | 24% |
| Great Bricett | 1,518 | 3.9 mi | 28.2 | 8.8% | 40% |
| Lavenham | 1,224 | 4 mi | 61.6 | 42% | 11% |
| Hadleigh | 8,638 | 4.5 mi | 46.7 | 27% | 27% |
| Elmsett | 1,001 | 4.7 mi | 54 | 32% | 23% |
| Great Waldingfield | 1,377 | 5.3 mi | 51.1 | 30% | 27% |
| Acton | 1,666 | 5.6 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 27% |
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 Chelsworth’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 Chelsworth’s residents
What is the population of Chelsworth?
The 2021 Census counted 212 people in Chelsworth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Chelsworth?
The median age was 60.6 at the 2021 Census. 4.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 42% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Chelsworth?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 6.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Chelsworth?
36% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.3% didn’t answer.
Is Chelsworth good for families?
15% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Chelsworth’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.