Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0Westleton is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 67.5
In Westleton, 5.9% of households have dependent children, beside 29% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 342, in 187 households. Married adults and civil partners: 64% of the total. Fewer households in terraced houses than in 95% of UK towns: 7%.
Westleton ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 58%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Where 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, Westleton has 5%. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 87 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.
A lower share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns, at 2.4%
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 4.7% in Westleton and 11% across England’s towns. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Westleton ranks below 99% of UK towns on shared households of unrelated adults: 1.1%
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 1.9 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. A third of households are one person living alone, a higher share than in 76% of UK towns. Shared households of unrelated adults make up 4.3% across England’s towns.
67% of households live in a detached 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
2.1% of households live in a flat or apartment (England’s towns: 23%). Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house. Locally, 9.1% of households have no car or van.
Westleton: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 91% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.3%). More residents born outside the UK than in 58% of UK towns: 7.3%. For residents whose main language is English, the comparison across England’s towns is 90%.
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, a share 90% of UK towns don’t reach
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 Westleton · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 57%, against 46% across England’s towns. In Westleton, 37% of residents said they have no religion. The usual figure: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Westleton ranks below 99% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 18%
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
Unpaid carers: 7.4% here and 8.7% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
41% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 41% of its adults qualified to degree level, Westleton compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 14% hold no qualification (18%).
Westleton is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westleton | 342 | — | 67.5 | 58% | 5.9% |
| Leiston | 5,919 | 4.2 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 22% |
| Saxmundham | 4,778 | 5.1 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Halesworth | 4,924 | 6.1 mi | 54 | 35% | 18% |
| Reydon | 2,369 | 6.4 mi | 59.2 | 40% | 17% |
| Aldeburgh | 2,423 | 7.4 mi | 61.9 | 44% | 12% |
| Laxfield | 1,004 | 9.3 mi | 52.3 | 28% | 19% |
| Framlingham | 3,831 | 10.3 mi | 48.2 | 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 Westleton’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 Westleton’s residents
What is the population of Westleton?
The 2021 Census counted 342 people in Westleton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Westleton?
The median age was 67.5 at the 2021 Census. 5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 58% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Westleton?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 7.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Westleton?
37% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Westleton good for families?
5.9% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Westleton’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.