Photo: Hugh Venables · CC BY-SA 2.0Mildenhall: 16% of residents are aged 15 to 24, above 97% of UK towns
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British trails 89% of UK towns: 75%. Mildenhall counted 9,684 residents and 4,205 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put one-person households at 37% here. Just over a quarter of households have dependent children, a lower share than in 67% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Mildenhall’s people
More born abroad than most towns
25% 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 (16%) and in EU countries (5.7%). Where people were born ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Mildenhall’s residents are under 38.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 16% are 15 to 24 and 19% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
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.
+4% since 2011: slower than 65% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Mildenhall’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,700 people in 2011; 9,100 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2013 to mid-2014, 380 people.
Mildenhall is younger than 88% of UK towns: a median age of 38.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 20–24 than any other five-year age: 10% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. The census found that 19% of residents are 65 or over in Mildenhall.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Mildenhall, 38.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 94% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
The share of full-time students trails 63% of UK towns: 4.5%. Across England’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 81% 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.
4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, against 2.2% in Mildenhall.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 56% of UK towns, at 16%
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
Households in flats make up 11%, against 23% across England’s towns. Typically, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Here, 32% of households live in a detached house.
Mildenhall: 25% of residents were born outside the UK, above 96% 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 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Where 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, Mildenhall has 95%. Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion make up 43% in Mildenhall, 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: 75% of Mildenhall · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 48%, against 46% across England’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (14%), Mixed or multiple (4.3%) and African (1.1%). Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%.
More adults who have never married than 78% of UK towns: 37%
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 290 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Measured more widely, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Lower than in nearly three quarters of UK towns: 8.5% of residents give unpaid care. Married adults and civil partners make up 44%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 21% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 21% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 31% hold no qualification (18%).
26th lowest median age among 413 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Tidworth (28.4) and the oldest Seaton (61). Nearest to Mildenhall in age: Goldthorpe (38), Llanharan and Brynna (38), Burton Latimer (38.4) and Radstock (38.5).
Mildenhall sits below 4 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mildenhall | 9,684 | — | 38.2 | 19% | 26% |
| Beck Row | 4,129 | 2 mi | 31.4 | 11% | 34% |
| Red Lodge | 5,771 | 3.1 mi | 30.9 | 6.1% | 38% |
| Little Eriswell | 4,120 | 3.1 mi | 23.9 | 0.7% | 54% |
| Isleham | 2,287 | 4 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 28% |
| Lakenheath | 4,567 | 4.6 mi | 42.7 | 23% | 22% |
| Kentford | 1,124 | 5.4 mi | 39.9 | 19% | 34% |
| Fordham | 2,566 | 5.7 mi | 44.5 | 21% | 29% |
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 Mildenhall’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. Mildenhall’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 8,844 people in 2021, against 9,684 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 Mildenhall’s residents
What is the population of Mildenhall?
The 2021 Census counted 9,684 people in Mildenhall’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 9,100 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Mildenhall?
The median age was 38.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 88% of UK towns. 16% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Mildenhall?
75% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 25% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Mildenhall?
43% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Mildenhall good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Mildenhall’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.