Photo: Andrew Hill · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Upper Layham is over 52.7, older than 93% of UK towns
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. Households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. Upper Layham counted 266 residents and 122 households at the 2021 Census. Across Upper Layham, nearly a quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Fewer young people than 99% of UK towns: 6.8% are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (30%), Upper Layham is above 91% of UK towns. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
Upper Layham ranks below 99% of UK towns on full-time students: 2.7%
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%.
In Upper Layham, 40% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 23% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%. Residents who moved in within the year account for 10%.
Only 23% of households in Upper Layham have dependent children
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.
Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%; Upper Layham has 1.6%. Higher than in 62% of UK towns: 31% of households are one person living alone. For households with dependent children, the comparison across England’s towns is 29%. Households here average 2.2 people each.
55% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 99% of UK towns
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 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns, Upper Layham has 12%. For Upper Layham, the census puts households in detached houses at 32%.
A smaller share of residents born outside the UK than 86% of UK towns: 3.4%
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 EU countries (1.5%) or in Africa (1.5%). Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. More residents whose main language is English than in 94% of UK towns: 99%.
In Upper Layham, 59% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 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: 96% of Upper Layham · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (1.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Caribbean (0.4%). Just over a third of residents said they have no religion, a lower share than in 86% of UK towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%.
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 89% of UK towns: 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
8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns, against 10% in Upper Layham. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% across England’s towns.
31% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Upper Layham, 31% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 21% have no qualification at all (18%).
2 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Upper Layham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Layham | 266 | — | 52.7 | 30% | 23% |
| Hadleigh | 8,638 | 1.4 mi | 46.7 | 27% | 27% |
| Elmsett | 1,001 | 3.9 mi | 54 | 32% | 23% |
| Capel St Mary | 2,992 | 4 mi | 50.7 | 31% | 25% |
| East Bergholt | 2,211 | 4.2 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 25% |
| Bildeston | 1,096 | 6.1 mi | 50.1 | 24% | 24% |
| Brantham | 2,081 | 6.2 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 28% |
| Great Bricett | 1,518 | 6.6 mi | 28.2 | 8.8% | 40% |
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 Upper Layham’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 Upper Layham’s residents
What is the population of Upper Layham?
The 2021 Census counted 266 people in Upper Layham’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Upper Layham?
The median age was 52.7 at the 2021 Census. 6.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Upper Layham?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Upper Layham?
34% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Upper Layham good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Upper Layham’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.