Photo: Bob Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in terraced houses: 2%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
Half of West Row’s residents are under 40.2, younger than in 79% of UK towns. The village is home to 859 residents in 353 households, by the 2021 Census. The census found that 7.1% of households have no car or van in the village. Against a figure of 30% across England’s towns, the share of one-person households in West Row comes in at 22%.
10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 72% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 8% of residents. Lower than in just over four fifths of UK towns: 17% of residents are 65 or over. Typically, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In Halesworth, the oldest of Suffolk’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
4.6% of adults are full-time students, below 63% 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%.
27% of West Row’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who moved in within the year are common here: 8.8%, more than in 52% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
Bigger households than 84% of UK towns: 2.4 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.6%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Locally, 31% of households have dependent children.
West Row ranks below 98% of UK towns on households in flats: 1.7%
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
Against a figure of 21% across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in West Row comes in at 42%. The wider picture: 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Above 84% of UK towns: 14% of residents were born outside the UK
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
The share of residents whose main language is English is 99%, against 90% across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (9.4%) and in EU countries (2.7%). The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion: 45%, a higher share than 77% 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: 89% of West Row · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who describe themselves as White British at 89%, West Row is behind just over two thirds of UK towns on that count. Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (6.6%), Mixed or multiple (2.3%) and Chinese (0.1%). Lower than in 60% of UK towns: 48% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 83% of UK towns, at 54%
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
29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. Locally, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns.
Among adults, 21% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 21% of West Row’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 22% have no qualification (18%).
West Row and its 7 nearest towns: 3 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Row | 859 | — | 40.2 | 17% | 31% |
| Beck Row | 4,129 | 1.7 mi | 31.4 | 11% | 34% |
| Mildenhall | 9,684 | 1.9 mi | 38.2 | 19% | 26% |
| Isleham | 2,287 | 2.2 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 28% |
| Red Lodge | 5,771 | 3.4 mi | 30.9 | 6.1% | 38% |
| Little Eriswell | 4,120 | 4 mi | 23.9 | 0.7% | 54% |
| Fordham | 2,566 | 4.2 mi | 44.5 | 21% | 29% |
| Lakenheath | 4,567 | 5 mi | 42.7 | 23% | 22% |
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 West Row’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 West Row’s residents
What is the population of West Row?
The 2021 Census counted 859 people in West Row’s built-up area.
What is the average age in West Row?
The median age was 40.2 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Row?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 14% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Row?
45% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is West Row good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West Row’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.