Photo: nick macneill · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Orford is over 59.1, older than 99% of UK towns
By its share of married adults and civil partners (59%), Orford is above 97% of UK towns. Households with dependent children account for 12%. Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in 87% of UK towns. 593 residents in 299 households: that is Orford at the 2021 Census.
39% of Orford is 65 or over, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with just over one in ten residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. For Orford, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 5.7%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 3.7%, a lower share than 92% 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, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier; in Orford, 12%. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2 people per household, fewer than in 99% 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.
In Orford, 31% of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns.
Fewer households in flats than 99% of UK towns: 1%
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, 21% of households live in a detached house; in Orford, 37%. The usual figure: 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Census figures put households without a car or van at 12% in the village. On households in terraced houses, Orford sits lower than nearly three fifths of UK towns: 18%.
Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Orford, more than in 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 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Here 5.8% of residents were born outside the UK, where the figure across England’s towns is 18%. Measured more widely, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.4%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.9%).
Above 89% of UK towns: 57% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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: 96% of Orford · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Nothing unusual on residents with no religion: 37%, close to the figure across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
13% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 99% 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
The share of adults who have never married is 24%, against 39% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers: 8.7% across England’s towns, for comparison.
33% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 33% of adults in Orford (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 19% (England’s towns: 18%).
Around Orford, 1 of 7 towns have a higher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orford | 593 | — | 59.1 | 39% | 12% |
| Aldeburgh | 2,423 | 5 mi | 61.9 | 44% | 12% |
| Rendlesham | 3,185 | 5.6 mi | 40.6 | 17% | 35% |
| Sutton Common | 1,262 | 6.4 mi | 29 | 12% | 43% |
| Leiston | 5,919 | 7.7 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 22% |
| Wickham Market | 2,231 | 8.3 mi | 52 | 33% | 21% |
| Saxmundham | 4,778 | 8.7 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Melton | 1,608 | 8.8 mi | 50.3 | 26% | 21% |
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 Orford’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 Orford’s residents
What is the population of Orford?
The 2021 Census counted 593 people in Orford’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Orford?
The median age was 59.1 at the 2021 Census. 5.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 39% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Orford?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 5.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Orford?
37% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.7% didn’t answer.
Is Orford good for families?
12% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Orford’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.