Photo: Adrian Cable · CC BY-SA 2.0In Martlesham, 0.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Where just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, Martlesham has 66%. Census day 2021: 1,976 residents and 809 households locally. Locally, 7.8% of households live in a terraced house. More residents aged 65 and over than in 83% of UK towns: 28%.
Martlesham is older than 73% of UK towns: a median age of 47.8
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11%, against 12% across England’s towns. In Halesworth, the oldest of Suffolk’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 85% of UK towns: 7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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%.
Full-time students make up 5.5%, against 7.9% across England’s towns. Against that, 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 lower share of one-person households than 97% of UK towns, at 21%
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.
Households in Martlesham hold 2.4 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). As a reference point, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The share of households with dependent children stands at 28%.
Only 6.7% of households in Martlesham have no car or van
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
The figure for households in flats is 3.3% in Martlesham and 23% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%.
In Martlesham, 98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 65% 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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.4%) and in Africa (1.4%). On average, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 5.7% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 57% of UK towns. Born abroad and arrived since 2017: a tenth of that group, against 21% across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 61% of UK towns, at 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: 92% of Martlesham · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Mixed or multiple (2.6%), Other White (2.4%) and African (0.5%). On residents who describe themselves as White British, Martlesham sits higher than 53% of UK towns: 92%. Across the comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 50%, against 46% across England’s towns.
More married adults and civil partners than 97% of UK towns: 59%
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
27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership (England’s towns: 39%). The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%. Across Martlesham, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care.
35% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Martlesham’s adults: 35% with a degree-level qualification and 15% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Older than Martlesham: 5 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martlesham | 1,976 | — | 47.8 | 28% | 28% |
| Martlesham Heath | 2,730 | 0.7 mi | 54.5 | 34% | 18% |
| Kesgrave | 14,947 | 1.7 mi | 44.1 | 20% | 33% |
| Woodbridge | 10,146 | 2.1 mi | 53.3 | 33% | 21% |
| Grundisburgh | 1,424 | 3 mi | 49 | 27% | 28% |
| Melton | 1,608 | 3.3 mi | 50.3 | 26% | 21% |
| Sutton Common | 1,262 | 4.6 mi | 29 | 12% | 43% |
| Kirton | 1,245 | 4.8 mi | 51.8 | 28% | 24% |
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 Martlesham’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 Martlesham’s residents
What is the population of Martlesham?
The 2021 Census counted 1,976 people in Martlesham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Martlesham?
The median age was 47.8 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Martlesham?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 5.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Martlesham?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Martlesham good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Martlesham’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.