Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0

51.1Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Great Waldingfield ranks below 99% of UK towns on households in flats: 0.4%

With one-person households at 22%, Great Waldingfield is behind 95% of UK towns on that count. Households in detached houses account for 60%. Fewer adults who have never married than in 90% of UK towns: 26%. At the 2021 Census, 1,377 people lived here, in 581 households.

30%aged 65 or over 3.7%born abroad 581households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Great Waldingfield’s people

51.1median age, older than 90% of UK towns

Older than most towns

Half of Great Waldingfield’s residents are under 51.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% 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).

Ages

Great Waldingfield is older than 90% of UK towns: a median age of 51.1

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

Great WaldingfieldEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: 10% of residents, 2.1 times the share across England’s towns. In Great Waldingfield, 30% of residents are 65 or over. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are scarce here: 8.4%, fewer than in 87% of UK towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1516%

15 to 248.4%

25 to 4419%

45 to 6427%

65 and over30%

Great WaldingfieldSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

52% women, 48% men

Great Waldingfield

England

WomenMen

About 93 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.

Students & newcomers

Great Waldingfield ranks below 83% of UK towns on full-time students: 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

Full-time students4%

Higher managerial and professional11%

Lower managerial and professional22%

Intermediate11%

Small employers and self-employed14%

Supervisory and technical5.7%

Semi-routine13%

Routine13%

Never worked or long-term unemployed6.2%

Great WaldingfieldSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Great Waldingfield

7.5%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

102

residents, 7.5%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.2× England’s share

11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, against 7.5% in Great Waldingfield. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

Great Waldingfield households average 2.4 people, larger than in 74% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 15%Living alone, under 66 6.4%Families with dependent children 27%Couples and families, no young children 48%Shared houses and other 3.3%

Against Suffolk’s towns and England’s towns

Great Waldingfield

Suffolk’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person22%

2 people42%

3 people18%

4 people13%

5 or more4.7%

England’s towns.

27% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. In Great Waldingfield, 3.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.

Homes & cars

Only 8.4% of households have no car or van in Great Waldingfield

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Great Waldingfield

Suffolk’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van8.4%

One35%

Two38%

Three or more18%

Great WaldingfieldSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

By its share of households in terraced houses (15%), Great Waldingfield is below 71% of UK towns. The benchmark for households without a car or van across England’s towns: 24%.

Where people were born

Only 3.7% of residents were born outside the UK in Great Waldingfield

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%

Great Waldingfield

3.7%

Suffolk’s towns

11%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.1%

Another main language, little or no English0.2%

Great WaldingfieldSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Here 99% of residents have English as their main language, where the figure across England’s towns is 90%. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.9%) and in Africa (0.7%).

Ethnicity & religion

Residents who describe themselves as White British: 95%, a higher share than 79% 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

Great WaldingfieldSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White2.1%

Asian0.4%

Mixed1.9%

Black0.2%

Other0.2%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 95% of Great Waldingfield · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

Great WaldingfieldSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion42%

Christian51%

Muslim0.6%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.1%

Other religion0.3%

Didn’t answer6%

0%30%60%

The largest groups after White British are Other White (2.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and Chinese (0.2%). The wider picture: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are more common here than in 59% of UK towns. The share of residents with no religion is 42%, against 37% across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

Married adults and civil partners make up 54% in Great Waldingfield, more than in 84% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership26%

Married or civil partnership54%

Separated2.2%

Divorced10%

Widowed7.9%

Great WaldingfieldSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

133residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 10%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week3.9%

20 to 49 hours2.4%

50 hours or more3.8%

Unpaid carers make up 10% of residents, against 8.7% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 50 residents.

Qualifications

Among adults, 23% hold a degree-level qualification

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications21%

Apprenticeship7.4%

A levels or similar17%

Degree level23%

Great WaldingfieldSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

With 23% of its adults qualified to degree level, Great Waldingfield compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 21% hold no qualification (18%).

Neighbours

Around Great Waldingfield, 2 of 7 towns have a higher median age

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

ActonSudburyLong MelfordLavenhamGlemsfordBuresBildestonGreat Waldingfield

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Great Waldingfield	1,377	—	51.1	30%	27%
Acton	1,666	1.1 mi	45.3	25%	27%
Sudbury	23,922	2.1 mi	44.9	23%	25%
Long Melford	3,895	3 mi	54.5	35%	19%
Lavenham	1,224	3.7 mi	61.6	42%	11%
Glemsford	3,693	5.6 mi	46.6	25%	25%
Bures	1,183	5.7 mi	48.4	27%	25%
Bildeston	1,096	6.5 mi	50.1	24%	24%

More about Great Waldingfield’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health B⁺Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute C⁺Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living B⁺Owners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools C⁻Every primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Great Waldingfield’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 Great Waldingfield’s residents

What is the population of Great Waldingfield?

The 2021 Census counted 1,377 people in Great Waldingfield’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Great Waldingfield?

The median age was 51.1 at the 2021 Census. 8.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Great Waldingfield?

95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Great Waldingfield?

42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.

Is Great Waldingfield good for families?

27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Great Waldingfield’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.