Photo: Oxyman · CC BY 2.5

54.5Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021 & mid-year estimates

Half of Long Melford is over 54.5, older than 96% of UK towns

In Long Melford, 27% of households live in a terraced house, beside 24% across England’s towns. Across Long Melford, 19% of households have dependent children. 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 80% of UK towns. The town had 3,895 residents in 1,858 households at the 2021 Census.

+18%people since 2011 35%aged 65 or over 5%born abroad 1,858households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Long Melford’s people

54.5median age, older than 96% of UK towns +18%people, mid-2011 to mid-2024; England +10%

Older than most towns

Half of Long Melford’s residents are under 54.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 35% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓

Growing faster than most

ONS mid-year estimates put Long Melford at 3,800 in 2011 and 4,500 in 2024, up 18%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 82% 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.

Population since 2011

Since 2011, Long Melford has grown +18%, faster than 82% of UK towns

ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Long Melford’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.

People, mid-2011 = 100

Long MelfordEnglandAll of Suffolk

Change by age, 2011 to 2024

Long MelfordEngland

0 to 15+4%

16 to 29+29%

30 to 44+3%

45 to 64−3%

65 and over+56%

About 3,800 people in 2011; 4,500 in 2024.

The biggest one-year rise was mid-2020 to mid-2021, 190 people. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+56%) and 45 to 64 least (−3%).

Ages

Residents aged 65 and over make up 35% in Long Melford, more than in 97% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

Long MelfordEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

With residents aged 15 to 24 at 7.6%, Long Melford is behind 96% of UK towns on that count. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.

Median age of UK towns of 2,500+

2535455565

■ Long Melford, 54.5. The typical town is 44.4.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1512%

15 to 247.6%

25 to 4419%

45 to 6426%

65 and over35%

Long MelfordSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

Long Melford

England

WomenMen

About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

Full-time students make up 3.2% in Long Melford, less than in 98% 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

Full-time students3.2%

Higher managerial and professional12%

Lower managerial and professional21%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed15%

Supervisory and technical5.6%

Semi-routine13%

Routine12%

Never worked or long-term unemployed6.3%

Long MelfordSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Long Melford

11%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

428

residents, 11%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.5× England’s share

At 11%, residents who moved in within the year sit close to the figure across England’s towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

2.1 people per household, fewer than in 93% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 19%Living alone, under 66 13%Families with dependent children 19%Couples and families, no young children 47%Shared houses and other 2%

Against Suffolk’s towns and England’s towns

Long Melford

Suffolk’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person32%

2 people43%

3 people12%

4 people9.1%

5 or more3.4%

England’s towns.

Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Long Melford. The census found that 32% of households are one person living alone here.

Homes & cars

Households in detached houses: 32%, a higher share than 58% of UK towns

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Long Melford

Suffolk’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van15%

One41%

Two33%

Three or more11%

Long MelfordSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Here nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. For households in detached houses, the comparison across England’s towns is 21%. Across Long Melford, 15% of households have no car or van.

Where people were born

A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 84% of UK towns: 99%

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%

Long Melford

Suffolk’s towns

11%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

Long MelfordEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1%

Another main language, little or no English0.1%

Long MelfordSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

5% of residents were born outside the UK (England’s towns: 18%). The wider picture: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.5%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.9%).

Ethnicity & religion

54% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 75% 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

Long MelfordSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White2.5%

Asian0.6%

Mixed0.9%

Black0.2%

Other0.5%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 95% of Long Melford · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

Long MelfordSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion37%

Christian54%

Muslim0.5%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.8%

Other religion0.4%

Didn’t answer7.2%

0%30%60%

At 37%, the share of residents with no religion is in line with the figure across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Bangladeshi (0.2%).

Relationships & caring

A smaller share of adults who have never married than 89% of UK towns: 26%

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership26%

Married or civil partnership52%

Separated2%

Divorced11%

Widowed9.3%

Long MelfordSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

341residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 9.1%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.2%

20 to 49 hours1.6%

50 hours or more2.3%

Married adults and civil partners: 52%, above just over three quarters of UK towns. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. For 87 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.

Qualifications

27% of adults are qualified to degree level

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications21%

Apprenticeship6.9%

A levels or similar16%

Degree level27%

Long MelfordSuffolk’s townsEngland’s towns

In Long Melford, 27% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 21% have no qualification at all (18%).

Towns its size

Of 530 UK towns its size (3,000 to 5,000 people), the 34th oldest

Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.

Long Melford 54.5

BailriggMilford on SeaAmlwch

174266

The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Long Melford in age: Crumbles (54.3), Bilton (54.4), Freckleton (54.6) and Penrhyn Bay (54.6).

Neighbours

Around Long Melford, 1 of 7 towns have a higher median age

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

ActonGlemsfordSudburyGreat WaldingfieldLavenhamClareBuresLong Melford

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Long Melford	3,895	—	54.5	35%	19%
Acton	1,666	2 mi	45.3	25%	27%
Glemsford	3,693	2.6 mi	46.6	25%	25%
Sudbury	23,922	2.9 mi	44.9	23%	25%
Great Waldingfield	1,377	3 mi	51.1	30%	27%
Lavenham	1,224	3.9 mi	61.6	42%	11%
Clare	2,278	5.9 mi	53.2	33%	19%
Bures	1,183	7.6 mi	48.4	27%	25%

More about Long Melford’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health B⁺Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute CIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living BOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools C⁺Every primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Long Melford’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. Long Melford’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,180 people in 2021, against 3,895 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 Long Melford’s residents

What is the population of Long Melford?

The 2021 Census counted 3,895 people in Long Melford’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,500 people in mid-2024, 18% more than in 2011.

What is the average age in Long Melford?

The median age was 54.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 96% of UK towns. 7.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 35% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Long Melford?

95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 5% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Long Melford?

37% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 7.2% didn’t answer.

Is Long Melford good for families?

19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Long Melford’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.