Photo: Michael Garlick · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents with no religion: 50%, a higher share than 93% of UK towns
The median age in Stowmarket is 40.2, lower than in 79% of UK towns. The town’s 9,291 households held 21,537 residents at the 2021 Census. Adults who have never married account for 35%. Against a figure of 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Stowmarket comes in at 2%.
What the Census says about Stowmarket’s people
More with no religion than most
50% 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.
Faster growth than 72% of UK towns: Stowmarket changed by +13% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Stowmarket’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 19,400 people in 2011; 21,900 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+34%); the 0 to 15 group moved least (−3%). Between mid-2013 and mid-2014 the population rose by 420, its biggest one-year gain.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11% in Stowmarket, more than in 77% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 18%; Stowmarket has 19%. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. More residents are 30–34 than any other five-year age: 7.5% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Stowmarket, 40.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
4.6% of adults are full-time students, below 61% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 9.4%, against 11% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Bigger households than 50% of UK towns: 2.3 people each 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 29%, close to the figure across England’s towns. Census figures put one-person households at 30% in Stowmarket.
Stowmarket ranks above 60% of UK towns on households in flats: 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
The share of households in terraced houses is 23%, against 24% across England’s towns. Across Stowmarket, 15% of households have no car or van.
97% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 61% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (3.8%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%). Against that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 13% (England’s towns: 21%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 43% in Stowmarket, less than in 85% 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: 92% of Stowmarket · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (3.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and Chinese (0.4%). Measured more widely, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%; Stowmarket has 92%.
45% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, below 72% 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
Stowmarket sits close to the norm on unpaid carers: 8.2%, about the same as across England’s towns. The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%.
26% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 26% of its adults qualified to degree level, Stowmarket compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 18% hold no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 38 in Stowmarket East & Needham Market North to 47 in Stowmarket West
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Stowmarket West is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Stowmarket East & Needham Market North the youngest (median age 38). Families with children are most common in Stowmarket East & Needham Market North (31% of households).
54th youngest of 289 UK towns of 15,000 to 29,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bangor (26.4) and the oldest South Hayling (57.2). Nearest to Stowmarket in age: Forest Town (40.2), Newmarket (40.2), Whitefield (40.3) and Hedge End (40.3).
Stowmarket sits below 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stowmarket | 21,537 | — | 40.2 | 19% | 29% |
| Stowupland | 2,019 | 1.2 mi | 47.6 | 28% | 24% |
| Haughley | 1,316 | 2.5 mi | 48.8 | 29% | 21% |
| Needham Market | 5,055 | 3.2 mi | 50 | 28% | 19% |
| Great Bricett | 1,518 | 4.6 mi | 28.2 | 8.8% | 40% |
| Elmswell | 4,446 | 4.9 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 5.1 mi | 52 | 31% | 21% |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 5.4 mi | 53.9 | 31% | 19% |
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 Stowmarket’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. Stowmarket’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 21,146 people in 2021, against 21,537 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 Stowmarket’s residents
What is the population of Stowmarket?
The 2021 Census counted 21,537 people in Stowmarket’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 21,900 people in mid-2024, 13% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Stowmarket?
The median age was 40.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 79% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Stowmarket?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Stowmarket?
50% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Stowmarket good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Stowmarket East & Needham Market North (31% of households). Schools are on Stowmarket’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.