Photo: Adrian Cable · CC BY-SA 2.0In Melton, 42% of households are one person living alone, more than in 99% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; in Melton, 8.5%. At the 2021 Census, 1,608 people lived here, in 793 households. Locally, 21% of households have dependent children. Few places have as many residents with no religion: 44% here, more than in 69% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Melton’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Melton’s residents are under 50.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 26% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Half of Melton is over 50.3, older than 86% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 60–64: 9.1% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. On the census count, 26% of residents are 65 or over.
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.
A lower share of full-time students than 87% of UK towns, at 3.9%
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%.
In Melton, just over a third of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.8%. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
Smaller households than 97% of UK towns: 2 people on average
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.
Lower than in 53% of UK towns: 2.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
More households in flats than 67% of UK towns: 14%
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
With households in terraced houses at 22%, Melton is ahead of 55% of UK towns on that count. Census figures put households without a car or van at 17% here. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 31% here, more than in 54% of UK towns. The share of households in flats across England’s towns is 23%.
5.2% born outside the UK, fewer than in 62% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By its share of residents whose main language is English (98%), Melton is above 58% of UK towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.4%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1%).
94% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 62% 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
White British, not charted: 94% of Melton · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
48% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (3%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and African (0.3%).
Adults who have never married: 30%, a lower share than 64% 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
Some 45 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Married adults and civil partners are rarer here than in 72% of UK towns. The wider picture: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. At 9.4%, the share of unpaid carers is in line with the figure across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 36% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Melton, 36%, and 16% have none, against 18%.
Of the 7 towns nearest Melton, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melton | 1,608 | — | 50.3 | 26% | 21% |
| Woodbridge | 10,146 | 1.1 mi | 53.3 | 33% | 21% |
| Sutton Common | 1,262 | 2.9 mi | 29 | 12% | 43% |
| Martlesham | 1,976 | 3.3 mi | 47.8 | 28% | 28% |
| Grundisburgh | 1,424 | 3.4 mi | 49 | 27% | 28% |
| Wickham Market | 2,231 | 3.6 mi | 52 | 33% | 21% |
| Martlesham Heath | 2,730 | 3.9 mi | 54.5 | 34% | 18% |
| Rendlesham | 3,185 | 4 mi | 40.6 | 17% | 35% |
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 Melton’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 Melton’s residents
What is the population of Melton?
The 2021 Census counted 1,608 people in Melton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Melton?
The median age was 50.3 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Melton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Melton?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Melton good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Melton’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.