Photo: Trevor Harris · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Eye is over 52.4, older than 93% of UK towns
With households with dependent children at 21%, Eye is behind 91% of UK towns on that count. In 2021, the Census found 2,211 residents in the village, living in 999 households. Across Eye, 36% of households are one person living alone. Fewer adults who have never married than in 82% of UK towns: 28%.
What the Census says about Eye’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Eye’s residents are under 52.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 33% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 33% in Eye, more than in 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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 smaller share of full-time students than 69% of UK towns: 4.4%
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 take in 34% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 27% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Eye has more residents who moved in within the year than 81% of UK towns, at 11%. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 87% of UK towns: 2.1 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.
On shared households of unrelated adults, Eye sits higher than 53% of UK towns: 2.4%.
A village of detached houses: 40% of households live in one
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 23% across England’s towns, the share of households in flats in Eye comes in at 7.9%. On the census count, 14% of households have no car or van. Few places have as many households in terraced houses: 22% here, more than in 58% of UK towns. The comparison figure for households in detached houses is 21% across England’s towns.
Eye: 7% of residents were born outside the UK, above 56% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Since 2017: a tenth of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns. Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 98% here, more than in just over half of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.8%).
More residents who describe themselves as White British than 61% of UK towns: 93%
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: 93% of Eye · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 51%, against 46% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (3.5%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Chinese (0.5%).
A smaller share of married adults and civil partners than 54% of UK towns: 47%
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
63 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Few places have so few unpaid carers: 9.2% here, fewer than in 55% of UK towns. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 28%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Eye, 28%, and 22% have none, against 18%.
Eye and its 7 nearest towns: 2 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eye | 2,211 | — | 52.4 | 33% | 21% |
| Scole | 1,037 | 3.1 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 20% |
| Diss | 9,599 | 4 mi | 46.3 | 26% | 23% |
| Gislingham | 1,172 | 4.7 mi | 50.3 | 24% | 25% |
| Roydon (South Norfolk) | 1,117 | 4.7 mi | 52.1 | 27% | 23% |
| Dickleburgh | 1,166 | 5.3 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 33% |
| Stradbroke | 1,190 | 5.4 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 20% |
| Mendlesham | 1,018 | 5.9 mi | 47 | 29% | 23% |
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 Eye’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 Eye’s residents
What is the population of Eye?
The 2021 Census counted 2,211 people in Eye’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Eye?
The median age was 52.4 at the 2021 Census. 8.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Eye?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Eye?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Eye good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Eye’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.