Photo: Stavros1 · CC BY 3.0A higher share of residents with no religion than 94% of UK towns, at 50%
One-person households make up 34%, against 30% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census counted 71,308 residents in 32,048 households. Households in terraced houses: 29% of the total. At 25%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is higher than in 72% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Lowestoft’s people
More with no religion than most
50% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 42% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. 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.
+3% since 2011, a pace below 70% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Lowestoft’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 69,100 people in 2011; 71,400 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2016 to mid-2017, 770 people. The 65 and over age group moved most (+19%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (−7%).
Older than 61% of UK towns: half of Lowestoft is over 46
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 7.1% of residents. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 9.8% here, more than in 52% of UK towns. In Halesworth, the oldest of Suffolk’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Lowestoft, 46. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Lowestoft, 4.5% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 65% 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%.
By class, 24% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 34% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year: 8.5% of the total. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households with dependent children: 25%, a lower share than 76% 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.
Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. The benchmark for households with dependent children across England’s towns: 29%. Average household size: 2.2 people.
A town of flats: 13% of households live in one
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
Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%; Lowestoft has 23%. The town has more households in detached houses than 55% of UK towns, at 31%.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 68% of UK towns: 4.7%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.3%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1%). As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are common here: 98%, more than in 58% of UK towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 15% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
Only 42% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Lowestoft
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: 94% of Lowestoft · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
94% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. For residents who describe themselves as Christian, the comparison across England’s towns is 46%. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Chinese (0.3%).
A larger share of unpaid carers than 78% of UK towns: 10%
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 2,408 residents. The share of unpaid carers across England’s towns is 8.7%. Just over a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 60% of UK towns. Lowestoft sits close to the norm on married adults and civil partners: 44%, about the same as across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 20%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Lowestoft, 23%, while 20% hold one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 36 in Lowestoft Central to 57 in Gunton East, Corton & Somerleyton
The town’s 10 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Gunton East, Corton & Somerleyton is the oldest area, with 37% aged 65 or over; Lowestoft Central the youngest (median age 36). Families with children are most common in Gunton West (31% of households).
8th oldest of 105 UK towns of 50,000 to 96,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Canterbury is the youngest (27.5); Clacton-on-Sea the oldest (50.4). Nearest to Lowestoft in age: Crosby (45.7), Kingswinford (45.8), Scarborough (46.2) and Torquay (46.9).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 6 are older than Lowestoft
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowestoft | 71,308 | — | 46 | 25% | 25% |
| Corton | 1,134 | 3.3 mi | 59.2 | 39% | 14% |
| Kessingland | 4,242 | 3.5 mi | 55 | 34% | 18% |
| Hopton on Sea | 2,575 | 4.8 mi | 51.3 | 28% | 21% |
| Worlingham | 3,618 | 5.8 mi | 50.1 | 29% | 24% |
| Beccles | 9,807 | 6.6 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 22% |
| Gorleston-on-Sea | 24,474 | 7.2 mi | 43.5 | 22% | 27% |
| Belton | 3,603 | 7.3 mi | 47.5 | 26% | 26% |
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 Lowestoft’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. Lowestoft’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 70,804 people in 2021, against 71,308 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 Lowestoft’s residents
What is the population of Lowestoft?
The 2021 Census counted 71,308 people in Lowestoft’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 71,400 people in mid-2024, 3% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Lowestoft?
The median age was 46 at the 2021 Census, older than 61% of UK towns. 9.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lowestoft?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 4.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lowestoft?
50% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Lowestoft good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Gunton West (31% of households). Schools are on Lowestoft’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.