Photo: Hugh Venables · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 1.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Risby
In Risby, 2.4% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. There were 336 households in the village at the 2021 Census, home to 887 residents. Locally, 21% of households are one person living alone. 8.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a lower share than in 86% of UK towns.
Risby sits above 94% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (32%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With a median age of 50.1, Risby is older than 85% of UK towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Halesworth, the oldest of Suffolk’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 66% of UK towns: 8%
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 Risby, 4.9%. As a reference point, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Risby households average 2.4 people, larger than in 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.
By its share of households with dependent children (31%), Risby is above just over four fifths of UK towns.
Risby sits below 91% of UK towns for households without a car or van (8.3%)
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
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses in Risby comes in at 17%. In one household in 12 there is no car or van. 2.4% of households live in a flat, less than in 96% of UK towns; 44% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Above 82% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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
Most residents from abroad were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.9%) or in EU countries (2.1%). Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%. 6.4% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 51% of UK towns.
54% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 76% 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: 93% of Risby · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
93% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents with no religion: 39% here, fewer than in 62% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (4.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Chinese (0.3%).
Risby sits below 98% of UK towns for adults who have never married (22%)
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
Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Risby has 58%. The usual figure: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 23. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 8.8%, fewer than in 67% of UK towns.
35% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
35% of Risby’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 19% have none (18%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Risby, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Risby | 887 | — | 50.1 | 32% | 31% |
| Barrow | 1,961 | 2.6 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 27% |
| Bury St Edmunds | 41,279 | 3.7 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 23% |
| Kentford | 1,124 | 5.8 mi | 39.9 | 19% | 34% |
| Great Barton | 1,848 | 6 mi | 54.2 | 35% | 23% |
| Red Lodge | 5,771 | 6.2 mi | 30.9 | 6.1% | 38% |
| Mildenhall | 9,684 | 7.6 mi | 38.2 | 19% | 26% |
| Thurston | 3,009 | 7.6 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 25% |
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 Risby’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 Risby’s residents
What is the population of Risby?
The 2021 Census counted 887 people in Risby’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Risby?
The median age was 50.1 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 32% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Risby?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 6.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Risby?
39% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Risby good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Risby’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.