Photo: Mat Fascione · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Kessingland is over 55, older than 97% of UK towns
A household here has 2.1 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. In 2021, the Census found 4,242 residents in Kessingland, living in 2,074 households. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 32%. On one-person households, Kessingland sits higher than 86% of UK towns: 35%.
What the Census says about Kessingland’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Kessingland’s residents are under 55 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 34% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
498 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 98% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
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 34% in Kessingland, more than in 96% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 7.9%, against 12% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Kessingland, 55. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 3.5%, a lower share than 94% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 8%, below nearly two thirds of UK towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
18% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 97% 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.
2.2% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
5.5% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 80% 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
In Kessingland, 16% of households have no car or van, beside 24% across England’s towns. On the census count, 28% of households live in a detached house. Against that, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents born outside the UK than 88% of UK towns, at 3.2%
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.8%), then in Africa (0.5%). Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 99% of residents have English as their main language, a higher share than in 88% of UK towns. The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are nearly a tenth of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns).
Kessingland sits above 83% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (96%)
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: 96% of Kessingland · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Indian (0.2%). For residents who describe themselves as White British, the comparison across England’s towns is 73%. Few places have as many residents with no religion: 43% here, more than in two thirds of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%; Kessingland has 49%.
Kessingland ranks above 98% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 12%
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
26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. For comparison, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Across Kessingland, nearly half of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
19% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
19% of Kessingland’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 26% have none (18%).
Among 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, the 38th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.7 in Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe. Nearest to Kessingland in age: Cowbridge (54.8), Bulkington (55), Topsham (55) and Brockenhurst (55.1).
Nearby, 2 of 7 towns have older populations than Kessingland
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kessingland | 4,242 | — | 55 | 34% | 18% |
| Lowestoft | 71,308 | 3.5 mi | 46 | 25% | 25% |
| Worlingham | 3,618 | 5.7 mi | 50.1 | 29% | 24% |
| Reydon | 2,369 | 5.9 mi | 59.2 | 40% | 17% |
| Beccles | 9,807 | 6.6 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 22% |
| Corton | 1,134 | 6.8 mi | 59.2 | 39% | 14% |
| Hopton on Sea | 2,575 | 8.3 mi | 51.3 | 28% | 21% |
| Thurlton | 1,145 | 10.1 mi | 49.4 | 24% | 27% |
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 Kessingland’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 Kessingland’s residents
What is the population of Kessingland?
The 2021 Census counted 4,242 people in Kessingland’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Kessingland?
The median age was 55 at the 2021 Census, older than 97% of UK towns. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Kessingland?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Kessingland?
43% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Kessingland good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Kessingland’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.