Photo: Simon Mortimer · CC BY-SA 2.036% of households are one person living alone, more than in 91% of UK towns
At 2.2 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Census day 2021: 4,778 residents and 2,173 households in Saxmundham. In Saxmundham, 18% of households have no car or van. Half of the town’s residents are under 43.2, younger than in 60% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Saxmundham’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Saxmundham at 3,600 in 2011 and 4,900 in 2024, up 35%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 95% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 43% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
A growing town: +35% since 2011, faster than 95% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Saxmundham’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,600 people in 2011; 4,900 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 16 to 29 changed most (+42%) and 30 to 44 least (+25%). In one year, mid-2014 to mid-2015, the population rose by 170, the most of any year.
23% of residents are 65 or over, a share 58% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 45–49, with 7% of residents. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24 (England’s towns: 12%).
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Saxmundham, 43.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Only 4.6% of adults are full-time students in Saxmundham
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%.
By class, 29% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Higher than in 91% of UK towns: 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students.
Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 57% of UK towns: 2.2%
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.
Where 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, Saxmundham has 27%. For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across England’s towns is 4.3%.
Above 62% of UK towns: 33% of households live in a detached house
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
By its share of households in terraced houses (25%), Saxmundham is above two thirds of UK towns. The wider picture: just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. The census found that 11% of households live in a flat or apartment here.
In Saxmundham, 98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 55% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). On average, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns, against 6% in Saxmundham.
Saxmundham: 49% of residents said they have no religion, above 92% 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 Saxmundham · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%; Saxmundham has 43%. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%. The largest groups after White British are Other White (3.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Chinese (0.5%).
34% of adults have never married, more than in 62% 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
At 8%, unpaid carers sit close to the figure across England’s towns. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 44% here, fewer than in nearly three quarters of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 112.
Qualified to degree level: 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
28% of Saxmundham’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 18% have none (18%).
Of 695 UK towns its size (3,000 to 6,000 people), the 180th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe the oldest (64.7). Nearest to Saxmundham in age: Thornton (43.2), Elmswell (43.2), Clapham (43.2) and St Columb Major (43.2).
Around Saxmundham, 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saxmundham | 4,778 | — | 43.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Leiston | 5,919 | 4 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 22% |
| Framlingham | 3,831 | 6 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 27% |
| Aldeburgh | 2,423 | 6.2 mi | 61.9 | 44% | 12% |
| Wickham Market | 2,231 | 6.7 mi | 52 | 33% | 21% |
| Rendlesham | 3,185 | 6.8 mi | 40.6 | 17% | 35% |
| Laxfield | 1,004 | 7.7 mi | 52.3 | 28% | 19% |
| Halesworth | 4,924 | 8.7 mi | 54 | 35% | 18% |
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 Saxmundham’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. Saxmundham’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,778 people in 2021, against 4,778 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 Saxmundham’s residents
What is the population of Saxmundham?
The 2021 Census counted 4,778 people in Saxmundham’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,900 people in mid-2024, 35% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Saxmundham?
The median age was 43.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 60% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Saxmundham?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Saxmundham?
49% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Saxmundham good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Saxmundham’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.