Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 99% of UK towns: half of Little Eriswell is under 23.9
1% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Little Eriswell’s 1,180 households held 4,120 residents at the 2021 Census. For Little Eriswell, the census puts households without a car or van at 5.2%. One-person households are rarer here than in 92% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Little Eriswell’s people
More born abroad than anywhere else in Suffolk
76% of residents were born outside the UK, against 11% across Suffolk’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (68%) and in EU countries (4.1%). Where people were born ↓
A town of families
54% of Little Eriswell’s 1,180 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 99% of UK towns and the highest share in Suffolk. 29% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Little Eriswell’s residents are under 23.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 26% are 15 to 24 and 0.7% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A mix of backgrounds
70% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 99% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (34%), Mixed or multiple (14%) and African (3.3%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
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, Little Eriswell has grown +73%, faster than 99% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Little Eriswell’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,400 people in 2011; 4,200 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2016 to mid-2017, 390 people. Split by age, the 0 to 15 changed most (+154%) and the 65 and over least (−52%).
Only 0.7% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 20–24 than any other five-year age: a fifth of residents, 3.2 times the share across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Little Eriswell, 23.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
43% women, 57% men
About 76 women for every 100 men. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Little Eriswell is a garrison town: service personnel living in barracks count as residents.
Little Eriswell sits above 99% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (30%)
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%.
6.8% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England’s towns. On average, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A higher share of households with dependent children than 99% of UK towns, at 54%
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.
In Little Eriswell the average household is 2.9 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Little Eriswell: 33% of households live in a terraced house, above 88% 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
23% of households live in a detached house; across England’s towns the figure is 21%. Across the comparison, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. The census found that nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment in Little Eriswell.
More residents born abroad than 99% of UK towns: 76% in Little Eriswell
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 90%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Here 96% of residents have English as their main language, where the figure across England’s towns is 90%. As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (68%), then in EU countries (4.1%).
Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 99% of UK towns: 30%
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: 30% of Little Eriswell · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (34%), Mixed or multiple (14%) and African (3.3%). Lower than in 88% of UK towns: 33% of residents said they have no religion. On average, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 54%, against 46% across England’s towns.
Below 99% of UK towns: 1.1% of residents give unpaid care
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
The figure for married adults and civil partners is 51% in Little Eriswell and 44% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are common here: 41%, more than in 92% of UK towns. For unpaid carers, the comparison across England’s towns is 8.7%. 12 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week.
A degree-level qualification for 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 27% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 41% hold no qualification (18%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 8.5%.
Among 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, the 2nd youngest
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 Little Eriswell in age: Bailrigg (18.9), Pirbright (24.7) and Lyneham (25.6).
No nearby town is as young as Little Eriswell
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Eriswell | 4,120 | — | 23.9 | 0.7% | 54% |
| Lakenheath | 4,567 | 1.9 mi | 42.7 | 23% | 22% |
| Beck Row | 4,129 | 2.5 mi | 31.4 | 11% | 34% |
| Mildenhall | 9,684 | 3.1 mi | 38.2 | 19% | 26% |
| Hockwold cum Wilton | 1,303 | 5.2 mi | 47.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Brandon | 9,218 | 5.2 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 23% |
| Isleham | 2,287 | 6.1 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 28% |
| Red Lodge | 5,771 | 6.1 mi | 30.9 | 6.1% | 38% |
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 Little Eriswell’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. Little Eriswell’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,850 people in 2021, against 4,120 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 Little Eriswell’s residents
What is the population of Little Eriswell?
The 2021 Census counted 4,120 people in Little Eriswell’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,200 people in mid-2024, 73% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Little Eriswell?
The median age was 23.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 99% of UK towns. 26% of residents were 15 to 24 and 0.7% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Little Eriswell?
30% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 76% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Little Eriswell?
33% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 10% didn’t answer.
Is Little Eriswell good for families?
54% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Little Eriswell’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.