Photo: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of households in flats than 82% of UK towns, at 5.3%
One in ten households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Locally, just over a quarter of households are one person living alone. Fewer unpaid carers than in 98% of UK towns: 6.5%. The 2021 Census put Sicklesmere’s population at 848, in 360 households.
In Sicklesmere, 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 68% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 18% across England’s towns, 23% of residents are 65 or over in Sicklesmere. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. With a median age of 45.7, Sicklesmere is older than nearly three fifths of UK towns.
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.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 7.1% in Sicklesmere, less than in 83% 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%.
6% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 11% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 77% of UK towns: 2.4 people 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.
Households with dependent children make up 27%, against 29% across England’s towns. The census found that 4.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Sicklesmere.
Sicklesmere sits above 55% of UK towns for households in detached houses (31%)
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
Households in terraced houses make up 23%, against 24% across England’s towns. For comparison, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 5.1% in Sicklesmere, less than in 63% 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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.2%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. 98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 60% of UK towns.
95% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 72% 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: 95% of Sicklesmere · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 51%, against 46% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Indian (0.1%). Sicklesmere has more residents with no religion than 54% of UK towns, at 42%.
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 62% of UK towns: 50%
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
9 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Measured more widely, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. At 32%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in 52% of UK towns.
Among adults, 27% 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 Sicklesmere, 27%, and 18% have none, against 18%.
Of the 7 towns nearest Sicklesmere, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sicklesmere | 848 | — | 45.7 | 23% | 27% |
| Bury St Edmunds | 41,279 | 3.3 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 23% |
| Thurston | 3,009 | 3.9 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 25% |
| Great Barton | 1,848 | 4.4 mi | 54.2 | 35% | 23% |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 6.1 mi | 52 | 31% | 21% |
| Lavenham | 1,224 | 7.1 mi | 61.6 | 42% | 11% |
| Elmswell | 4,446 | 7.2 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Ixworth | 2,296 | 7.3 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 26% |
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 Sicklesmere’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 Sicklesmere’s residents
What is the population of Sicklesmere?
The 2021 Census counted 848 people in Sicklesmere’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sicklesmere?
The median age was 45.7 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sicklesmere?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 5.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sicklesmere?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 7.2% didn’t answer.
Is Sicklesmere good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sicklesmere’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.