Photo: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 93% of UK towns: half of Wetherden is over 52.6
Where nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, Wetherden has 23%. Its 241 households held 552 residents at the 2021 Census. Households without a car or van account for 7.1%. 1.3% of households live in a flat or apartment, a lower share than in 99% of UK towns.
In Wetherden, 30% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 8.5% of residents. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Lower than in nearly four fifths of UK towns: 8.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24. In Halesworth, the oldest of Suffolk’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year: 4.7%, a lower share than 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%.
7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, against 4.4% in Wetherden. Measured more widely, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Households with dependent children make up 20% in Wetherden, less than in 94% 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.
Households average 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Fewer one-person households than in 90% of UK towns: 24%. Across England’s towns, households with dependent children come to 29%. Here, 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
2.5% of households live in a terraced house, fewer 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
With households in detached houses at 66%, Wetherden is ahead of 98% of UK towns on that count. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Wetherden: 100% of residents have English as their main language, above 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
Set against 18% across England’s towns, 4.7% of residents were born outside the UK in Wetherden. Across the comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.4%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.4%).
53% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 70% 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: 94% of Wetherden · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 94%, above 64% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Next after White British come Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (2.4%) and Caribbean (0.7%). Just over two in five residents said they have no religion, more than in 51% of UK towns.
59% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 97% 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
Some 20 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. The benchmark for married adults and civil partners across England’s towns: 44%. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 88% of UK towns.
A degree-level qualification for 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Wetherden counts 37% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 15% have no qualification (18%).
A younger town than 1 of the 7 around it: Wetherden
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wetherden | 552 | — | 52.6 | 30% | 20% |
| Elmswell | 4,446 | 1.2 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Haughley | 1,316 | 1.5 mi | 48.8 | 29% | 21% |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 1.9 mi | 52 | 31% | 21% |
| Stowmarket | 21,537 | 3.7 mi | 40.2 | 19% | 29% |
| Stowupland | 2,019 | 4 mi | 47.6 | 28% | 24% |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 4.2 mi | 53.9 | 31% | 19% |
| Walsham le Willows | 1,258 | 5.2 mi | 49 | 25% | 25% |
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 Wetherden’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 Wetherden’s residents
What is the population of Wetherden?
The 2021 Census counted 552 people in Wetherden’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Wetherden?
The median age was 52.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wetherden?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 4.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wetherden?
41% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Wetherden good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wetherden’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.