Photo: Bob Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Pakenham is older than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 52.2
Set against 73% across England’s towns, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British in Pakenham. 569 residents in 244 households: that is Pakenham at the 2021 Census. The census found that 2.5% of households live in a flat or apartment in the village. The village has more households in detached houses than 88% of UK towns, at 48%.
Pakenham: 31% of residents are 65 or over, above 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with nearly one in ten residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. In Pakenham, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
Pakenham sits below 78% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (7.4%)
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, 7.9% of adults are full-time students; in Pakenham, 5.4%. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
One-person households: 21%, a lower share than 97% 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.
Against a figure of 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Pakenham comes in at 3.3%. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Households with dependent children: nearly a quarter of the total.
Households without a car or van make up 5% in Pakenham, less than in 99% 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
Nearly one in ten households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns.
In Pakenham, 3% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 91% 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
Across England’s towns, nine in ten residents have English as their main language; in Pakenham, 100%. The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.4%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.7%).
Pakenham ranks above 61% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 51%
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 Pakenham · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 42% here and 37% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Pakenham sits above 87% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (55%)
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
In Pakenham, 28% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, beside 39% across England’s towns. One in ten residents give unpaid care, more than in 58% of UK towns. Typically, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 15.
Degree-level qualifications reach 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 27% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 19% hold no qualification (18%).
Pakenham sits below 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakenham | 569 | — | 52.2 | 31% | 24% |
| Thurston | 3,009 | 1.4 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 25% |
| Great Barton | 1,848 | 2 mi | 54.2 | 35% | 23% |
| Ixworth | 2,296 | 2 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 26% |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 4.5 mi | 52 | 31% | 21% |
| Stanton | 2,316 | 4.6 mi | 44.3 | 22% | 28% |
| Elmswell | 4,446 | 4.7 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Bury St Edmunds | 41,279 | 4.8 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 23% |
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 Pakenham’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 Pakenham’s residents
What is the population of Pakenham?
The 2021 Census counted 569 people in Pakenham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Pakenham?
The median age was 52.2 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Pakenham?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pakenham?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Pakenham good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Pakenham’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.