Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 91% of UK towns: half of Occold is over 51.6
The share of households in detached houses tops 99% of UK towns: 68%. Occold counted 506 residents and 217 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put households without a car or van at 5.6% here. One-person households are rarer here than in 93% of UK towns.
Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 88% of UK towns: 8.4%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 24%, against 18% across England’s towns. The largest age band is 60–64: just over one in ten residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
4.7% of adults are full-time students, below 57% 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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Occold, 39% and 20%. On residents who moved in within the year, Occold sits higher than 76% of UK towns: 10%. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Bigger households than 73% of UK towns: 2.4 people each 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.
29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, against 26% in Occold. The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 2.8%.
4.2% of households live in a terraced house, below 98% of UK towns
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
23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, against 3.7% in Occold. On average, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Occold sits above 99% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (100%)
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
Residents born outside the UK: 4.4% here and 18% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in Africa (2.2%) and in EU countries (1%).
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 98% of UK towns: 97%
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: 97% of Occold · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 45% of residents said they have no religion, where the figure across England’s towns is 37%. Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Locally, 51% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
Married adults and civil partners: 55%, a higher share than 87% 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
Unpaid carers: 10%, above 78% of UK towns. Typically, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Locally, 27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
30% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
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 Occold, 30%, and 21% have none, against 18%.
3 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Occold
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Occold | 506 | — | 51.6 | 24% | 26% |
| Eye | 2,211 | 2.3 mi | 52.4 | 33% | 21% |
| Mendlesham | 1,018 | 4.6 mi | 47 | 29% | 23% |
| Debenham | 2,294 | 4.7 mi | 49.7 | 29% | 27% |
| Stradbroke | 1,190 | 5 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 20% |
| Gislingham | 1,172 | 5.2 mi | 50.3 | 24% | 25% |
| Scole | 1,037 | 5.2 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 20% |
| Diss | 9,599 | 6.3 mi | 46.3 | 26% | 23% |
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 Occold’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 Occold’s residents
What is the population of Occold?
The 2021 Census counted 506 people in Occold’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Occold?
The median age was 51.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Occold?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Occold?
45% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 3.6% didn’t answer.
Is Occold good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Occold’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.