Royal Hospital School, Main Range Including Assembly Hall, Dining Room, Gymnasium, Administration and Teaching Accommodation · Photo: Walker44 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in flats: 1.2%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
The share of households in detached houses is 51%, against 21% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census counted 2,146 residents in 738 households. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 16%. One-person households are rarer here than in 88% of UK towns.
Younger than 71% of UK towns: half of Holbrook is under 41.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 15–19, with just over one in ten residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. Across Holbrook, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Holbrook ranks above 97% of UK towns on full-time students: 11%
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 43% of Holbrook’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 14%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Higher than in 88% of UK towns: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
1.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 82% 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.
On households with dependent children, 29% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Households here average 2.4 people each. The usual figure: 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Households without a car or van make up 9.5% in Holbrook, less than in 85% of UK towns
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
Terraced houses are home to 18% of households, against 24% across England’s towns. About one household in 11 lives without a car or van.
Holbrook: 7% of residents were born outside the UK, above 57% 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
Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 26% (England’s towns: 21%). Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.7%). Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 98% here, more than in 50% of UK towns.
44% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 72% 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: 90% of Holbrook · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Holbrook, 48% of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 46% across England’s towns. Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as White British at 90% locally.
More married adults and civil partners than 69% of UK towns: 51%
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 care takes 50 hours a week or more for 33 people. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. 7.7% of residents give unpaid care, a lower share than in 90% of UK towns. The share of adults who have never married is 31%, against 39% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 39% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 39% of its adults qualified to degree level, Holbrook compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 14% hold no qualification (18%). The highest qualification of 16% is A levels, often students still at university.
Older than Holbrook: 6 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holbrook | 2,146 | — | 41.6 | 22% | 29% |
| Mistley | 1,827 | 4.1 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 22% |
| Brantham | 2,081 | 4.2 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 28% |
| Bradfield | 1,254 | 4.5 mi | 52.2 | 31% | 26% |
| Manningtree | 1,676 | 4.8 mi | 53.7 | 34% | 15% |
| Shotley Gate | 1,418 | 4.9 mi | 48.2 | 21% | 26% |
| Capel St Mary | 2,992 | 4.9 mi | 50.7 | 31% | 25% |
| Ipswich | 151,566 | 5 mi | 39 | 17% | 29% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Holbrook’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 Holbrook’s residents
What is the population of Holbrook?
The 2021 Census counted 2,146 people in Holbrook’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Holbrook?
The median age was 41.6 at the 2021 Census. 16% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Holbrook?
90% 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 Holbrook?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Holbrook good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Holbrook’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.