Photo: Kelly · CC0Above 97% of UK towns: 62% of households live in a detached house
2.5% of households live in a flat or apartment (England’s towns: 23%). At the 2021 Census, 4,567 people lived in Lakenheath, in 2,152 households. The census found that 80% of residents describe themselves as White British in the town. More one-person households than in 81% of UK towns: 34%.
What the Census says about Lakenheath’s people
A town people move to
14% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Lakenheath at 4,200 in 2011 and 5,100 in 2024, up 22%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 88% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Since 2011, Lakenheath has grown +22%, faster than 88% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Lakenheath’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,200 people in 2011; 5,100 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 45 to 64 (+39%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−2%). Between mid-2013 and mid-2014 the population rose by 230, its biggest one-year gain.
Lakenheath is younger than 64% of UK towns: a median age of 42.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
At 12%, residents aged 15 to 24 sit close to the figure across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over account for 23%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Lakenheath, 42.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 91% of UK towns: 3.7%
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%.
By class, 27% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 29% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns. Across Lakenheath, 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
22% of households have dependent children, below 90% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.5% here and 4.3% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Households in terraced houses make up 9.8% in Lakenheath, less than in 89% 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
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van in Lakenheath comes in at 9%.
Lakenheath: 21% of residents were born outside the UK, above 93% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (15%) and in EU countries (3.3%). Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, against 98% in Lakenheath.
A larger share of residents with no religion than 63% of UK towns: 43%
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: 80% of Lakenheath · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 49%, against 46% across England’s towns. Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (10%), Mixed or multiple (3.4%) and African (1.1%). Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion.
29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 74% 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
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
147 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Across England’s towns, adults who have never married come to 39%. On married adults and civil partners, Lakenheath sits higher than two thirds of UK towns: 51%. Unpaid carers are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 9.6%.
20% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 20% of adults in Lakenheath, 34% across England’s towns; 30% have no qualification, against 18%.
Of 695 UK towns its size (3,000 to 6,000 people), the 160th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe the oldest (64.7). Nearest to Lakenheath in age: Thrybergh and Dalton (42.7), Mulbarton (42.7), Sutton (42.7) and Mickletown (42.8).
Median age: 3 of the 7 towns around Lakenheath 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakenheath | 4,567 | — | 42.7 | 23% | 22% |
| Little Eriswell | 4,120 | 1.9 mi | 23.9 | 0.7% | 54% |
| Beck Row | 4,129 | 3.3 mi | 31.4 | 11% | 34% |
| Hockwold cum Wilton | 1,303 | 3.6 mi | 47.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Mildenhall | 9,684 | 4.6 mi | 38.2 | 19% | 26% |
| Brandon | 9,218 | 4.7 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 23% |
| Feltwell | 2,919 | 4.9 mi | 38.5 | 20% | 33% |
| Weeting | 1,883 | 5.2 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 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 Lakenheath’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Lakenheath’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,871 people in 2021, against 4,567 in the built-up area.
- 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 Lakenheath’s residents
What is the population of Lakenheath?
The 2021 Census counted 4,567 people in Lakenheath’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,100 people in mid-2024, 22% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Lakenheath?
The median age was 42.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 64% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lakenheath?
80% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 21% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lakenheath?
43% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Lakenheath good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Lakenheath’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.