Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0A smaller share of households with dependent children than 95% of UK towns: 20%
The share of households without a car or van is 8.5%, against 24% across England’s towns. Locally, 0.6% of households live in a flat or apartment. Lower than in 92% of UK towns: 23% of households are one person living alone. Somersham had 704 residents and 317 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 50.8.
Older than 89% of UK towns: half of Somersham is over 50.8
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
28% of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%). The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 8.3%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
2.1% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 99% 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%.
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 7.3% in Somersham and 11% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.9% in Somersham, less than in 75% 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.
At 2.2 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. The benchmark for shared households of unrelated adults across England’s towns: 4.3%.
Fewer households in terraced houses than 79% of UK towns: 13%
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
Where just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, Somersham has 34%. The benchmark for households in terraced houses across England’s towns: 24%.
1.9% born outside the UK, fewer than in 99% 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
The figure for residents whose main language is English is 100% in Somersham and 90% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. Residents born abroad were most often born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.7%), then in EU countries (0.4%).
A higher White British share than 99% of UK towns: 98% of residents
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: 98% of Somersham · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 46% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian in Somersham comes in at 52%. On residents with no religion, Somersham sits higher than 56% of UK towns: 42%. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns is 73%.
Somersham ranks above 89% of UK towns on 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
Across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 8.7%; Somersham has 11%. Few places have so few adults who have never married: 28% here, fewer than in just over four fifths of UK towns. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. Some 17 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 27% of adults in Somersham (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 20% (England’s towns: 18%).
2 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Somersham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somersham | 704 | — | 50.8 | 28% | 20% |
| Elmsett | 1,001 | 2.4 mi | 54 | 32% | 23% |
| Great Blakenham | 2,188 | 2.4 mi | 31.9 | 8.7% | 35% |
| Bramford | 2,335 | 2.6 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 19% |
| Claydon | 3,140 | 3.1 mi | 48.8 | 27% | 26% |
| Great Bricett | 1,518 | 3.6 mi | 28.2 | 8.8% | 40% |
| Needham Market | 5,055 | 4 mi | 50 | 28% | 19% |
| Hadleigh | 8,638 | 5 mi | 46.7 | 27% | 27% |
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 Somersham’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 Somersham’s residents
What is the population of Somersham?
The 2021 Census counted 704 people in Somersham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Somersham?
The median age was 50.8 at the 2021 Census. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Somersham?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 1.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Somersham?
42% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Somersham good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Somersham’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.