Photo: Bob Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Shared households of unrelated adults: 0.5%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%; Hessett has 4.8%. The share of households in detached houses stands at 63%. At 22%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in 98% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 513 residents locally, living in 209 households.
8.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 85% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Hessett’s residents are over 45.8, older than in 60% of UK towns. For comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. On the census count, 18% of residents are 65 or over. In Halesworth, the oldest of Suffolk’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Hessett: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 87% 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%.
Full-time students: 4.7% here and 7.9% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Hessett has 47% and 14%.
In Hessett, 19% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 98% of UK towns
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.
Here 31% of households have dependent children, where the figure across England’s towns is 29%. To put it in context, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Only 2.4% of households have no car or van in Hessett
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 flats are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%.
Hessett: 100% of residents have English as their main language, above 99% 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
Born outside the UK: 4.9% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.5%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%).
Residents with no religion make up 43% in Hessett, more than in 68% 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: 94% of Hessett · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (2%) and Caribbean (0.4%). Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 94% here, more than in 62% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents with no religion come to 37%. 50% of residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%).
60% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 98% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 6 residents. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Fewer unpaid carers than in 72% of UK towns: 8.5%.
43% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 43% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 11% hold no qualification (18%).
Hessett sits below 5 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hessett | 513 | — | 45.8 | 18% | 31% |
| Thurston | 3,009 | 2.6 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 25% |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 2.6 mi | 52 | 31% | 21% |
| Elmswell | 4,446 | 3.8 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Great Barton | 1,848 | 4.4 mi | 54.2 | 35% | 23% |
| Bury St Edmunds | 41,279 | 5.5 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 23% |
| Ixworth | 2,296 | 5.7 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 26% |
| Haughley | 1,316 | 5.9 mi | 48.8 | 29% | 21% |
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 Hessett’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 Hessett’s residents
What is the population of Hessett?
The 2021 Census counted 513 people in Hessett’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Hessett?
The median age was 45.8 at the 2021 Census. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hessett?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hessett?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Hessett good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hessett’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.