Photo: Keith Rattenbury · CC BY-SA 2.047% of households live in a detached house, more than in 86% of UK towns
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten households have no car or van here. At the 2021 Census, 4,446 people lived in Elmswell, in 1,939 households. On the census count, 27% of households are one person living alone. 52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 72% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Elmswell’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Elmswell at 3,700 in 2011 and 5,000 in 2024, up 32%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 94% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
More with no religion than most
47% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 47% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Elmswell grew +32% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 94% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Elmswell’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,700 people in 2011; 5,000 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+49%) and weakest among the 45 to 64 (+17%). Between mid-2020 and mid-2021 the population rose by 320, its biggest one-year gain.
Younger than 60% of UK towns: half of Elmswell is under 43.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
In Elmswell, nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, beside 18% across England’s towns. On residents aged 15 to 24, Elmswell sits higher than 52% of UK towns: 9.8%. The largest age band is 30–34: 7.2% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Elmswell, 43.2. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
4.5% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 67% 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%.
Just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Below 55% of UK towns: 27% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.4%, above 54% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, households with dependent children come to 29%. Households here average 2.3 people each.
A smaller share of households in flats than 76% of UK towns: 6.3%
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
Households in terraced houses make up 17%, against 24% across England’s towns. To put it in context, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 78% of UK towns, at 99%
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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 15% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. Here, 5.5% of residents were born outside the UK. Measured more widely, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Elmswell ranks above 87% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 47%
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 Elmswell · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
94% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Meanwhile, residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in 69% of UK towns. Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and African (0.4%).
30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 65% 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
Unpaid carers make up 8.9%, close to the figure across England’s towns. The usual figure: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
31% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
31% of Elmswell’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 16% have none (18%).
Of 695 UK towns its size (3,000 to 6,000 people), the 179th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe the oldest (64.7). Nearest to Elmswell in age: Leadgate (43.2), Thornton (43.2), Saxmundham (43.2) and Clapham (43.2).
Median age: 6 of the 7 towns around Elmswell are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmswell | 4,446 | — | 43.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 1.4 mi | 52 | 31% | 21% |
| Haughley | 1,316 | 2.7 mi | 48.8 | 29% | 21% |
| Walsham le Willows | 1,258 | 4.5 mi | 49 | 25% | 25% |
| Thurston | 3,009 | 4.6 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 25% |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 4.6 mi | 53.9 | 31% | 19% |
| Stowmarket | 21,537 | 4.9 mi | 40.2 | 19% | 29% |
| Stowupland | 2,019 | 5.2 mi | 47.6 | 28% | 24% |
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 Elmswell’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. Elmswell’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,190 people in 2021, against 4,446 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 Elmswell’s residents
What is the population of Elmswell?
The 2021 Census counted 4,446 people in Elmswell’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,000 people in mid-2024, 32% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Elmswell?
The median age was 43.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 60% of UK towns. 9.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Elmswell?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 5.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Elmswell?
47% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Elmswell good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Elmswell’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.